| August 28, 2025 | In Culture, EVENTS & PLACES, HEADLINES  The Trans Summit in Durban will tackle pressing issues facing transgender women in South Africa (Image: Sazi Jali, Durban 2018 / Yaya Mavundla, Parktown 2014 / Leticia Sishi, Parktown 2024 photographed by Zanele Muholi.) To close Women’s Month this year, the Muholi Art Institute (MAI) will host the first Trans Summit, a gathering that places transgender women at the heart of the conversation. The event runs from 29 to 31 August 2025 at The Edward Hotel in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. Inspired by the vision of internationally acclaimed visual activist Zanele Muholi, the Muholi Art Institute is a dynamic space dedicated to fostering creativity, critical dialogue, and cultural exchange. The Trans Summit will bring together trans women to share their visual narratives, build new connections, and strengthen existing ones. It aims to affirm a trans-femme community that is too often unheard, unrecognised, and marginalised. “For the longest time, transgender women existed but were excluded from opportunities, paid less than their worth, and mostly deprived of the freedom to be,” said summit organiser Yaya Mavundla. Building on the Legacy of Brave Beauties The summit builds on more than a decade of work by Professor Zanele Muholi. Fifteen years ago, Muholi began collaborating with trans and queer bodies in Umlazi, Durban, with participants such as Le Sishi and Minenhle Mbatha. On 1 January 2012, Muholi, Sishi and Mbatha launched the Brave Beauties project with a series of photographs at Durban’s North Beach. Every New Year’s Day since then has marked another chapter in the ongoing Brave Beauties beach collaborations, cementing the project as a powerful symbol of queer visibility. Tackling Urgent Issues The Trans Summit will address pressing issues facing trans women, including: The Trans Summit will address issues of visibility, representation, gender markers, trans advocacy, hormone replacement, surgery, healthcare, education, and employment, amongst other urgent matters affecting trans women daily. While the programme is ambitious, organisers believe the summit will establish a strong foundation for future collaborations, continuing Muholi’s pioneering work that began privately in 2012 and has since expanded through the Muholi Art Institute. Powerful Voices and Leaders The programme will include keynote speaker Steve Letsike, Deputy Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, as well as Sazi Jali, Brave Beauties participant and founder-director of Trans Hope (the first trans organisation in KwaZulu-Natal), and Aluta Humbane, musician, activist, and Brave Beauties participant. Importantly, the Summit is designed so that Brave Beauties participants are not only speakers but also central to planning and decision-making.  “This summit is a right to write, to advocate, and to demand what is just for trans lives,” said  Mavundla. “Its purpose, rooted in the legacy of Brave Beauties, circles back to the essence Humbane expressed in 2013, how their existence queered public space and continues to do so thirteen years later.” A Time to Reflect Looking ahead, Muholi highlighted that 2026 will mark several major milestones in South Africa’s history: • 70 years since the 1956 Women’s March to Pretoria • 50 years since the 1976 Youth Uprising in Soweto and other townships • 20 years of Muholi’s acclaimed Faces and Phases series of portraits of black lesbian women “It is time to take stock and reflect on where we come from, and what the status quo is,” said Muholi. This first Trans Summit forms part of a trilogy of conferences hosted by the MAI in August 2025. The weekend of 21–23 August saw the second Black Women in Photography Conference, while the Trans Summit coincides with the Men’s Conference II, hosted in Cape Town.

Namibia: Aids day warning · Contributor | Human Security 04.12.2003. Tagged under Human Security Namibia · Namibia: National Society for Human Rights ... Namibia: Aids day warning · Contributor | Human Security 04.12.2003. Tagged under Human Security Namibia · Namibia: National Society for Human Rights ...

 An epidemic of anti-LGBTQ+ violence is sweeping Nigeria, promoted on social media by conservative influencers and abetted by draconian laws in the central African nation that criminalize all same-sex behavior. A rash of vigilante attacks has resulted in the deaths of two high school students and the grave injury of several others in recent months, incidents caught on camera, recorded by bystanders and the perpetrators, and uploaded to social media. Related Popular trans TikToker killed in Nigeria Recordings of the attacks are earning applause and encouragement from many social media commenters. In July, a group of high school students allegedly murdered two of their classmates after accusing them of engaging in gay sex. Four students were attacked in the incident, leaving two dead at the scene. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today The incident occurred in Kano state, one of 14 majority-Muslim states in northern Nigeria subject to Sharia law. The mob is accused of beating the victims with metal objects known in the region as “Gwale-Gwale,” as a form of punishment for their alleged same-sex behavior. Eleven students have been arrested in connection with the murders. Last week, graphic video went viral showing two Nigerian university students who were brutally beaten by a mob after being accused of being gay, according to News.com.au. Video of the attack at Delta State University in southern Nigeria shows the two young men being hunted down, cornered, and violently assaulted by a crowd of fellow students. Two gay boys were caught and beaten, inside DELSU (Delta State University, Abraka , Campus 3 sport complex ….

Was it appropriate beating them ? 
|Benue | BBNaijaReunion | Tor Tiv| NO SIGN OF WEAKNESS |Pluto pic.twitter.com/W8gZTkbeHR — DelsuEye  (@DelsuEye) June 19, 2025 In one of several videos circulating on TikTok, the vigilante mob is seen smashing their way into a small security building where the two victims had locked themselves inside. The two young men are dragged out, thrown to the ground, and savagely whipped with belts and sticks by their attackers, as dozens of onlookers gathered around the scene jeer in support and record the attack. Visibly covered in blood and bruises, the victims plead for mercy as the crowd looks on. One gay student who witnessed the attack said it was traumatizing.  “I’ve always read stories of gay men like me being attacked and lynched to death, but I never thought I’d witness one,” the 20-year-old said. “Those boys could easily have been me or one of my friends.” Multiple videos from all over Nigeria reveal the same kind of vigilante violence: young men accused of being gay who are assaulted, stripped, and humiliated in public. A viral video posted last year on X showed two bloodied gay men in their underwear being beaten with sticks by a mob and paraded through Port Harcourt in southern Nigeria.   In another, four young men were paraded down a street and run out of the Edo State capital Benin City in November wearing only their boxer shorts. The angry mob threatened to kill them if they ever returned. Homosexuality is criminalized under Nigerian federal law, with same-sex relationships carrying prison sentences of up to 14 years. The 2014 Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act bans same-sex marriage and criminalizes all forms of consensual same-sex relationships and public displays of affection. In northern states governed by Sharia law, homosexuality is punishable by death. “This isn’t just about the law anymore,” Philip, a queer rights activist based in Lagos, told News.com.au. “It’s about everyday people deciding they have the right to punish, beat, and humiliate queer people as a form of moral policing, then broadcast it for clout. And the internet is amplifying it.” One source of that encouragement is well-known Nigerian TikToker S.K Records, who launched an online campaign earlier this summer called SOS, or “Save Our Society.” Taking a cue from other anti-LGBTQ+ activists in Africa, including elected officials, the influencer frames homosexuality as a Western threat to African values and encourages mob violence by an army of young Nigerian followers.   The influencer’s so-called movement has amassed thousands of followers in a matter of weeks.   “This kind of rhetoric gives mobs permission,” said Philip, the Lagos-based activist. “It tells them they are doing something noble.” “There is no safe place,” he added. “Not in the streets, not online, not even on a university campus.” Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide. An epidemic of anti-LGBTQ+ violence is sweeping Nigeria, promoted on social media by conservative influencers and abetted by draconian laws in the central African nation that criminalize all same-sex behavior. A rash of vigilante attacks has resulted in the deaths of two high school students and the grave injury of several others in recent months, incidents caught on camera, recorded by bystanders and the perpetrators, and uploaded to social media. Related Popular trans TikToker killed in Nigeria Recordings of the attacks are earning applause and encouragement from many social media commenters. In July, a group of high school students allegedly murdered two of their classmates after accusing them of engaging in gay sex. Four students were attacked in the incident, leaving two dead at the scene. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today The incident occurred in Kano state, one of 14 majority-Muslim states in northern Nigeria subject to Sharia law. The mob is accused of beating the victims with metal objects known in the region as “Gwale-Gwale,” as a form of punishment for their alleged same-sex behavior. Eleven students have been arrested in connection with the murders. Last week, graphic video went viral showing two Nigerian university students who were brutally beaten by a mob after being accused of being gay, according to News.com.au. Video of the attack at Delta State University in southern Nigeria shows the two young men being hunted down, cornered, and violently assaulted by a crowd of fellow students. Two gay boys were caught and beaten, inside DELSU (Delta State University, Abraka , Campus 3 sport complex ….

Was it appropriate beating them ? 
|Benue | BBNaijaReunion | Tor Tiv| NO SIGN OF WEAKNESS |Pluto pic.twitter.com/W8gZTkbeHR — DelsuEye (@DelsuEye) June 19, 2025 In one of several videos circulating on TikTok, the vigilante mob is seen smashing their way into a small security building where the two victims had locked themselves inside. The two young men are dragged out, thrown to the ground, and savagely whipped with belts and sticks by their attackers, as dozens of onlookers gathered around the scene jeer in support and record the attack. Visibly covered in blood and bruises, the victims plead for mercy as the crowd looks on. One gay student who witnessed the attack said it was traumatizing.  “I’ve always read stories of gay men like me being attacked and lynched to death, but I never thought I’d witness one,” the 20-year-old said. “Those boys could easily have been me or one of my friends.” Multiple videos from all over Nigeria reveal the same kind of vigilante violence: young men accused of being gay who are assaulted, stripped, and humiliated in public. A viral video posted last year on X showed two bloodied gay men in their underwear being beaten with sticks by a mob and paraded through Port Harcourt in southern Nigeria.   In another, four young men were paraded down a street and run out of the Edo State capital Benin City in November wearing only their boxer shorts. The angry mob threatened to kill them if they ever returned. Homosexuality is criminalized under Nigerian federal law, with same-sex relationships carrying prison sentences of up to 14 years. The 2014 Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act bans same-sex marriage and criminalizes all forms of consensual same-sex relationships and public displays of affection. In northern states governed by Sharia law, homosexuality is punishable by death. “This isn’t just about the law anymore,” Philip, a queer rights activist based in Lagos, told News.com.au. “It’s about everyday people deciding they have the right to punish, beat, and humiliate queer people as a form of moral policing, then broadcast it for clout. And the internet is amplifying it.” One source of that encouragement is well-known Nigerian TikToker S.K Records, who launched an online campaign earlier this summer called SOS, or “Save Our Society.” Taking a cue from other anti-LGBTQ+ activists in Africa, including elected officials, the influencer frames homosexuality as a Western threat to African values and encourages mob violence by an army of young Nigerian followers.   The influencer’s so-called movement has amassed thousands of followers in a matter of weeks.   “This kind of rhetoric gives mobs permission,” said Philip, the Lagos-based activist. “It tells them they are doing something noble.” “There is no safe place,” he added. “Not in the streets, not online, not even on a university campus.” Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

 Following the first National Dialogue Convention held this past weekend, the LGBTQIA+ sector convened its first engagement meeting… The post LGBTQIA+ Sector Holds First Engagement in National Dialogue Process appeared first on MambaOnline - LGBTQ South Africa online. Following the first National Dialogue Convention held this past weekend, the LGBTQIA+ sector convened its first engagement meeting… The post LGBTQIA+ Sector Holds First Engagement in National Dialogue Process appeared first on MambaOnline - LGBTQ South Africa online.

 In what has been described as a landmark victory for LGBTQI+ rights in Kenya, a court has ruled that a transgender woman’s rights were… The post Kenya: Court Orders Transgender Rights Bill After Historic Ruling appeared first on MambaOnline - LGBTQ South Africa online. In what has been described as a landmark victory for LGBTQI+ rights in Kenya, a court has ruled that a transgender woman’s rights were… The post Kenya: Court Orders Transgender Rights Bill After Historic Ruling appeared first on MambaOnline - LGBTQ South Africa online.

Activists were offered scholarship aid if they paid hefty application fees and sent personal data   LGBTQ+ rights activists in Ghana, Pakistan, Uganda, South Africa and elsewhere were the targets of an elaborate online scam offering admission to fake LGBTQ+ conferences in Canada in 2024 and 2025, the online Canadian LGBTQ2S+ publication Xtra reported. Targeted… The post Scamsters prey on LGBTQ+ activists from the Global South, inviting them to fake conferences in Canada appeared first on Erasing 76 Crimes. Activists were offered scholarship aid if they paid hefty application fees and sent personal data   LGBTQ+ rights activists in Ghana, Pakistan, Uganda, South Africa and elsewhere were the targets of an elaborate online scam offering admission to fake LGBTQ+ conferences in Canada in 2024 and 2025, the online Canadian LGBTQ2S+ publication Xtra reported. Targeted… The post Scamsters prey on LGBTQ+ activists from the Global South, inviting them to fake conferences in Canada appeared first on Erasing 76 Crimes.

(Image: Obscure Agency) From modular disruptors to Afro-house visionaries, poetic minimalists to cinematic rebels, this month’s selection spans continents and genres, but shares one trait in common: presence. These are not just performers. They are architects of emotion, ritual, and resonance. Janosch Moldau (Image: Obscure Agency) Janosch Moldau has spent the past two decades walking the fine line between melancholy and momentum. A veteran of the post-pop era, his sound evokes late-night synths, ghostly textures, and quiet defiance. With a global following and past chart appearances on laut.de, and Spotify, he’s carved a niche that’s both intimate and expansive. His catalogue, spanning singles like Soul Recovery, Where I Believe, and Sense for God, shows a rare commitment to emotional precision. His upcoming single The Ground (out August 29) marks a return to soul-bending territory. This fall, he joins Chris Goss (Masters of Reality) on tour, followed by Balkan dates in December. Moldau isn’t just consistent. He’s quietly built an alternative legacy, one ghost track at a time. Janosch Moldau · Top tracks 1 1
Soul Recovery
Janosch Moldau
03:39
2
Where I Believe
Janosch Moldau
02:09
3
Disciples And Friends
Janosch Moldau
02:19
4
Soul Recovery
Janosch Moldau
03:50
5
Love Is An Angel
Janosch Moldau
03:54
6
We Behaved Wrong
Janosch Moldau
04:13
7
This is My Show
Janosch Moldau
03:33
8
Into This Life
Janosch Moldau
03:52
9
Light for Me - Forest Mix
Janosch Moldau
03:22
10
Brothers and Sisters
Janosch Moldau
05:17 David Castellani (Image: Obscure Agency) Born in Italy and now based in Lisbon by way of Los Angeles, David Castellani is a live performer, educator, designer, and inventor at the cutting edge of modular techno. His sets move like living machines: organic, intelligent, and deeply physical. Founder of the label Noetic, he’s hosted showcases with Hiroko Yamamura, Ken Ishii and DJ Hyperactive, released remixes by Etapp Kyle, Matrixxman, Truncate and Redshape, and shared stages with the likes of Rødhåd and Luke Slater. His projects regularly blend art and sound: an immersive a 360° LIVE performance alongside Colin Benders and ONYVAA, a dance-techno hybrid project ‘Hysteria Dichotic’ with AnnMarie Arcuri broadcast on Mixmag TV, a popular workshop on modular synthesis at Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) and his ongoing collaborative work with spoken word artist and muse Brittney Vandal that’s birthed two EPs (‘ienemy’ & ‘Self Saboteur’). Castellani also features the didgeridoo in his sets, a nod to First Nations culture that’s as intentional as it is atmospheric. His invention, the Precision Disrupter module by Anti-Kulture, is used by some of electronic music’s most respected artists, solidifying his place as one of the scene’s true disruptors. Psychologically layered and sonically immersive, Castellani’s work blurs the line between internal sabotage and creative release. Each production feels like a deep dive into consciousness itself: equal parts tension, curiosity, and catharsis. David Castellani · Top tracks 1 1
Requiem - Etapp Kyle Remix
David Castellani, Etapp Kyle
06:06
2
Requiem
David Castellani
07:28
3
Immutable - Truncate Remix
David Castellani, Trunacte
05:01
4
Phrenesis
David Castellani
04:16
5
Absentia
David Castellani
06:33
6
AntiPush
David Castellani
06:43
7
Unforgivable
David Castellani, Brittney Vandal
05:24
8
Immutable - Original Mix
David Castellani
06:44
9
Heart Plastique
David Castellani
06:11
10
Asphyxia
David Castellani
05:27 Sky White (Image: Obscure Agency) Born and raised in Mozambique, Sky White is setting the Afro-house scene ablaze one hypnotic drop at a time. A producer, DJ, and remixer, his sets channel deep rhythm, emotional uplift, and future-facing percussion. With over 600,000 streams and a loyal following across Africa, his impact is already global. His new single Start The Fire, released in August, builds like a ritual: dark, minimal textures give way to tribal drums, smoldering synths, and a groove that erupts into full-blown Afro-tech euphoria. Inspired by Black Coffee’s iconic Human Orchestra performance, Sky began producing at just 10 and hit the stage at 16. His early love for the piano evolved into a deep passion for house music, shaped by mentors like Afro-Cuban percussionist Juma Santos. With endorsements from genre giants like Black Coffee and Tale of Us, Sky’s tracks blend entrancing rhythm with evocative melody, striking a powerful balance between energy and emotion. From festival stages to iconic venues, his performances captivate and transcend. Sky White · Top tracks 1 1
Louco Louco
KingDonna, Sky White
06:49
2
Olha Você
Sky White
06:27
3
Falling - Enoo Napa Remix
Sky White, XtetiQsoul, Courtney Williams, Enoo Napa
06:41
4
Vamo Lá
Sky White
03:44
5
Innocent
SANDHAUS, Sky White
03:40
6
Emotion
Curol, Sky White
06:13
7
Walls - Sky White Remix
Vanco, Thandi Draai, Sky White
05:43
8
Children of Today
Sky White
06:42
9
Start the Fire
Sky White
05:54
10
Leave this Place
Sky White, XtetiQsoul
06:19 Saba (Image: Obscure Agency) Saba is a singer-songwriter from Olbia blending heartfelt vocals with club-rooted energy. After debuting in 2017 with the support of platinum-selling artists, he quickly gained recognition for his writing and performance skills, honed through exclusive masterclasses and collaborations. In 2021, his breakout single Fireworks, produced with DJ duo No Name, revealed his vocal strength over a polished dance-pop beat, cementing his presence in the Italian market. From Times Square screens in New York to underground dancefloors, his journey is marked by both visibility and depth. Now collaborating with Cosmophonix, Saba is preparing a new Queer EP merging pop with voguing and club culture. The first single is imminent and with it, a statement of identity, sound, and movement. SABA · Top tracks 1 1
Liberi tutti
ESABA
03:16
2
Haram
ESABA
02:58
3
Quando Parli
SABA
03:17
4
03:17
ESABA
03:32
5
AMORETERNO
ESABA
03:27
6
Non Te Ne Accorgi
SABA
02:54
7
Havana
SABA
02:31 Da Africa Deep (Image: Obscure Agency) Da Africa Deep, real name Teleki Wilfred Mphahlele, is a South African producer and DJ transforming Afro House into a spiritual experience. Born in Seshego, Limpopo, and shaped by jazz, gospel, and the deep pulse of South Africa’s musical legacy, his productions channel ancestral energy and hypnotic rhythm into something cinematic and soul-stirring. Influenced by legends like Hugh Masekela and pioneers like Da Capo, his music is rooted in culture yet reaches far beyond. Tracks like Feel The Love and Where We Belong highlight his emotional precision, while his remixes, like the 800K-stream version of Until Tomorrow and his take on Black Coffee’s Need to Know, have earned him a global audience and critical support. His new single No End released in August, explores themes of love, timelessness, and spiritual unity through deep synth work, organic percussion, and Afro-infused textures. It’s a sonic invocation, powerful, grounded, and otherworldly. With over 45,000 monthly Spotify listeners, 21K followers on Instagram, and regular performances across Europe and Southern Africa, Da Africa Deep invites listeners into a soundscape where rhythm, soul, and history collide. Da Africa Deep · Top tracks 1 1
Call Me Back - Da Africa Deep and &friends Remix
SAMAHA (EG), Da Africa Deep, &friends
04:18
2
Until Tomorrow - Da Africa Deep Remix
Chelsea Como, Jacko, Da Africa Deep
08:08
3
Need To Know [Mixed]
Da Africa Deep, Jordan Arts
05:35
4
Personal
Da Africa Deep, Kali Mija
04:52
5
Feel The Love
Da Africa Deep
07:50
6
Me And You
Da Africa Deep, Miči
04:20
7
Bind
Da Africa Deep, SONA
07:44
8
Burning Bright
ISIKO, Da Africa Deep
04:31
9
Perio
Da Africa Deep
07:05
10
Humans (feat. Lyrik Shoxen and KJM Cornetist)
Da Africa Deep, Simo Moumen, KJM-Cornetist, Lyrik Shoxen
09:43 Fredrik Forss (Image: Obscure Agency) Where music meets mysticism, Fredrik Forss invites you into the beautiful unknown. The Swedish singer-songwriter and author crafts songs like he writes books: as portals into the soul. His lyrics awaken questions.

Also known for his philosophical novel UNUM: AI – God or Servant, Forss explores the frontier between spirit, humanity, and technology. But while his writing examines these themes through language, his music does it through presence. Rooted in Nordic minimalism and poetic stillness, each song becomes a moment of reflection less performance, more perception. In his latest track Where Does the Ocean Begin, ambient textures and stripped-down melody become vessels for emotion and awareness. Listening to Forss feels like entering a sacred space one where silence speaks, and the invisible becomes audible Fredrik Forss · Top tracks 1 1
You Can Kill Me, But I Won't Die
Fredrik Forss, XiA
03:16
2
Where Does the Ocean Begin?
Fredrik Forss
03:03
3
Children Have Their Own Souls
Fredrik Forss
03:41
4
Mirrors of the One
Fredrik Forss
04:21
5
Room For the Living
Fredrik Forss
03:49
6
Death Awakens Life
Fredrik Forss
03:49
7
Eternal Home
Fredrik Forss
03:49
8
Sorrow is Love's Arrow
Fredrik Forss
03:16 Obscure Agency continues to highlight independent voices that operate outside conventional formats. Whether solo or collaborative, personal or expansive, these projects make room for complexity without losing coherence. To stay updated, follow Hidden Gems. No algorithms. Just artists worth hearing. (Image: Obscure Agency) From modular disruptors to Afro-house visionaries, poetic minimalists to cinematic rebels, this month’s selection spans continents and genres, but shares one trait in common: presence. These are not just performers. They are architects of emotion, ritual, and resonance. Janosch Moldau (Image: Obscure Agency) Janosch Moldau has spent the past two decades walking the fine line between melancholy and momentum. A veteran of the post-pop era, his sound evokes late-night synths, ghostly textures, and quiet defiance. With a global following and past chart appearances on laut.de, and Spotify, he’s carved a niche that’s both intimate and expansive. His catalogue, spanning singles like Soul Recovery, Where I Believe, and Sense for God, shows a rare commitment to emotional precision. His upcoming single The Ground (out August 29) marks a return to soul-bending territory. This fall, he joins Chris Goss (Masters of Reality) on tour, followed by Balkan dates in December. Moldau isn’t just consistent. He’s quietly built an alternative legacy, one ghost track at a time. Janosch Moldau · Top tracks 1 1
Soul Recovery
Janosch Moldau
03:39
2
Where I Believe
Janosch Moldau
02:09
3
Disciples And Friends
Janosch Moldau
02:19
4
Soul Recovery
Janosch Moldau
03:50
5
Love Is An Angel
Janosch Moldau
03:54
6
We Behaved Wrong
Janosch Moldau
04:13
7
This is My Show
Janosch Moldau
03:33
8
Into This Life
Janosch Moldau
03:52
9
Light for Me - Forest Mix
Janosch Moldau
03:22
10
Brothers and Sisters
Janosch Moldau
05:17 David Castellani (Image: Obscure Agency) Born in Italy and now based in Lisbon by way of Los Angeles, David Castellani is a live performer, educator, designer, and inventor at the cutting edge of modular techno. His sets move like living machines: organic, intelligent, and deeply physical. Founder of the label Noetic, he’s hosted showcases with Hiroko Yamamura, Ken Ishii and DJ Hyperactive, released remixes by Etapp Kyle, Matrixxman, Truncate and Redshape, and shared stages with the likes of Rødhåd and Luke Slater. His projects regularly blend art and sound: an immersive a 360° LIVE performance alongside Colin Benders and ONYVAA, a dance-techno hybrid project ‘Hysteria Dichotic’ with AnnMarie Arcuri broadcast on Mixmag TV, a popular workshop on modular synthesis at Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) and his ongoing collaborative work with spoken word artist and muse Brittney Vandal that’s birthed two EPs (‘ienemy’ & ‘Self Saboteur’). Castellani also features the didgeridoo in his sets, a nod to First Nations culture that’s as intentional as it is atmospheric. His invention, the Precision Disrupter module by Anti-Kulture, is used by some of electronic music’s most respected artists, solidifying his place as one of the scene’s true disruptors. Psychologically layered and sonically immersive, Castellani’s work blurs the line between internal sabotage and creative release. Each production feels like a deep dive into consciousness itself: equal parts tension, curiosity, and catharsis. David Castellani · Top tracks 1 1
Requiem - Etapp Kyle Remix
David Castellani, Etapp Kyle
06:06
2
Requiem
David Castellani
07:28
3
Immutable - Truncate Remix
David Castellani, Trunacte
05:01
4
Phrenesis
David Castellani
04:16
5
Absentia
David Castellani
06:33
6
AntiPush
David Castellani
06:43
7
Unforgivable
David Castellani, Brittney Vandal
05:24
8
Immutable - Original Mix
David Castellani
06:44
9
Heart Plastique
David Castellani
06:11
10
Asphyxia
David Castellani
05:27 Sky White (Image: Obscure Agency) Born and raised in Mozambique, Sky White is setting the Afro-house scene ablaze one hypnotic drop at a time. A producer, DJ, and remixer, his sets channel deep rhythm, emotional uplift, and future-facing percussion. With over 600,000 streams and a loyal following across Africa, his impact is already global. His new single Start The Fire, released in August, builds like a ritual: dark, minimal textures give way to tribal drums, smoldering synths, and a groove that erupts into full-blown Afro-tech euphoria. Inspired by Black Coffee’s iconic Human Orchestra performance, Sky began producing at just 10 and hit the stage at 16. His early love for the piano evolved into a deep passion for house music, shaped by mentors like Afro-Cuban percussionist Juma Santos. With endorsements from genre giants like Black Coffee and Tale of Us, Sky’s tracks blend entrancing rhythm with evocative melody, striking a powerful balance between energy and emotion. From festival stages to iconic venues, his performances captivate and transcend. Sky White · Top tracks 1 1
Louco Louco
KingDonna, Sky White
06:49
2
Olha Você
Sky White
06:27
3
Falling - Enoo Napa Remix
Sky White, XtetiQsoul, Courtney Williams, Enoo Napa
06:41
4
Vamo Lá
Sky White
03:44
5
Innocent
SANDHAUS, Sky White
03:40
6
Emotion
Curol, Sky White
06:13
7
Walls - Sky White Remix
Vanco, Thandi Draai, Sky White
05:43
8
Children of Today
Sky White
06:42
9
Start the Fire
Sky White
05:54
10
Leave this Place
Sky White, XtetiQsoul
06:19 Saba (Image: Obscure Agency) Saba is a singer-songwriter from Olbia blending heartfelt vocals with club-rooted energy. After debuting in 2017 with the support of platinum-selling artists, he quickly gained recognition for his writing and performance skills, honed through exclusive masterclasses and collaborations. In 2021, his breakout single Fireworks, produced with DJ duo No Name, revealed his vocal strength over a polished dance-pop beat, cementing his presence in the Italian market. From Times Square screens in New York to underground dancefloors, his journey is marked by both visibility and depth. Now collaborating with Cosmophonix, Saba is preparing a new Queer EP merging pop with voguing and club culture. The first single is imminent and with it, a statement of identity, sound, and movement. SABA · Top tracks 1 1
Liberi tutti
ESABA
03:16
2
Haram
ESABA
02:58
3
Quando Parli
SABA
03:17
4
03:17
ESABA
03:32
5
AMORETERNO
ESABA
03:27
6
Non Te Ne Accorgi
SABA
02:54
7
Havana
SABA
02:31 Da Africa Deep (Image: Obscure Agency) Da Africa Deep, real name Teleki Wilfred Mphahlele, is a South African producer and DJ transforming Afro House into a spiritual experience. Born in Seshego, Limpopo, and shaped by jazz, gospel, and the deep pulse of South Africa’s musical legacy, his productions channel ancestral energy and hypnotic rhythm into something cinematic and soul-stirring. Influenced by legends like Hugh Masekela and pioneers like Da Capo, his music is rooted in culture yet reaches far beyond. Tracks like Feel The Love and Where We Belong highlight his emotional precision, while his remixes, like the 800K-stream version of Until Tomorrow and his take on Black Coffee’s Need to Know, have earned him a global audience and critical support. His new single No End released in August, explores themes of love, timelessness, and spiritual unity through deep synth work, organic percussion, and Afro-infused textures. It’s a sonic invocation, powerful, grounded, and otherworldly. With over 45,000 monthly Spotify listeners, 21K followers on Instagram, and regular performances across Europe and Southern Africa, Da Africa Deep invites listeners into a soundscape where rhythm, soul, and history collide. Da Africa Deep · Top tracks 1 1
Call Me Back - Da Africa Deep and &friends Remix
SAMAHA (EG), Da Africa Deep, &friends
04:18
2
Until Tomorrow - Da Africa Deep Remix
Chelsea Como, Jacko, Da Africa Deep
08:08
3
Need To Know [Mixed]
Da Africa Deep, Jordan Arts
05:35
4
Personal
Da Africa Deep, Kali Mija
04:52
5
Feel The Love
Da Africa Deep
07:50
6
Me And You
Da Africa Deep, Miči
04:20
7
Bind
Da Africa Deep, SONA
07:44
8
Burning Bright
ISIKO, Da Africa Deep
04:31
9
Perio
Da Africa Deep
07:05
10
Humans (feat. Lyrik Shoxen and KJM Cornetist)
Da Africa Deep, Simo Moumen, KJM-Cornetist, Lyrik Shoxen
09:43 Fredrik Forss (Image: Obscure Agency) Where music meets mysticism, Fredrik Forss invites you into the beautiful unknown. The Swedish singer-songwriter and author crafts songs like he writes books: as portals into the soul. His lyrics awaken questions.

Also known for his philosophical novel UNUM: AI – God or Servant, Forss explores the frontier between spirit, humanity, and technology. But while his writing examines these themes through language, his music does it through presence. Rooted in Nordic minimalism and poetic stillness, each song becomes a moment of reflection less performance, more perception. In his latest track Where Does the Ocean Begin, ambient textures and stripped-down melody become vessels for emotion and awareness. Listening to Forss feels like entering a sacred space one where silence speaks, and the invisible becomes audible Fredrik Forss · Top tracks 1 1
You Can Kill Me, But I Won't Die
Fredrik Forss, XiA
03:16
2
Where Does the Ocean Begin?
Fredrik Forss
03:03
3
Children Have Their Own Souls
Fredrik Forss
03:41
4
Mirrors of the One
Fredrik Forss
04:21
5
Room For the Living
Fredrik Forss
03:49
6
Death Awakens Life
Fredrik Forss
03:49
7
Eternal Home
Fredrik Forss
03:49
8
Sorrow is Love's Arrow
Fredrik Forss
03:16 Obscure Agency continues to highlight independent voices that operate outside conventional formats. Whether solo or collaborative, personal or expansive, these projects make room for complexity without losing coherence. To stay updated, follow Hidden Gems. No algorithms. Just artists worth hearing.

 Lesotho-born queer artist, lawyer, and researcher Thato Toeba has been named the winner of the 2025 FNB Art Prize, one of Africa’s most… The post Queer Artist Thato Toeba Wins 2025 FNB Art Prize appeared first on MambaOnline - LGBTQ South Africa online. Lesotho-born queer artist, lawyer, and researcher Thato Toeba has been named the winner of the 2025 FNB Art Prize, one of Africa’s most… The post Queer Artist Thato Toeba Wins 2025 FNB Art Prize appeared first on MambaOnline - LGBTQ South Africa online.


 Today's links • Charlie Jane Anders' "Lessons in Magic and Disaster.": Families, they fuck you up (magically). • Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. • Object permanence: HST in space; It Plays Doom; Deserted Chinese themeparks; Banksy's Dismaland; Dollars are better than warrants; "Fuck the algorithm." • Upcoming appearances: Where to find me. • Recent appearances: Where I've been. • Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em. • Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em. • Colophon: All the rest. 
 Charlie Jane Anders' "Lessons in Magic and Disaster." (permalink) Charlie Jane Anders' Lessons in Magic and Disaster drops today: it's a novel about queer academia, the wonder of thinking very hard about very old books, and the terror and joy of ambiguous magic. It's my kind of novel! https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250867322/lessonsinmagicanddisaster/ There's a kind of magic I love to read about – the kind where it's not entirely clear whether the person purporting to do magic is acting entirely on instinct, and neither they nor we can be entirely sure whether anything magical has actually happened. This ambiguity just tickles something in me, the part of my brain that tries to bear down on traffic lights to make them turn green, or on board-game dice to get a good roll. It's the mode of Iain Banks's The Wasp Factory and Kelly Link's Book of Love. It's a mode that Anders does superbly, and has done since her 2016 debut novel, All the Birds in the Sky: https://memex.craphound.com/2016/01/26/charlie-jane-anderss-all-the-birds-in-the-sky-smartass-soulful-novel/ That's the kind of magic at the heart of Magic and Disaster, which tells the story of Jamie, a doctoral candidate at a New England liberal arts college who is trying to hold it all together while she finishes her dissertation. For Jamie, holding it together is a tall order. Her relationship is on the rocks, her advisor is breathing down her neck, a smartass alt-right kid in her class keeps trolling her lectures, and to top it all off, her mother Sarina has withdrawn from society and is self-evidently preparing to lie down and die, out of grief and penance for the death of her wife, who died of cancer that everyone – her doctors and Sarina – downplayed until it was too late. That would be an impossible lift, except for Jamie's gift for maybe-magic – magic that might or might not be real. Certain places ("liminal spaces") call to Jamie. These are abandoned, dirty, despoiled places, ruins and dumps and littered campsites. When Jamie finds one of these places, she can improvise a ritual, using the things in her pockets and school bag as talismans that might – or might not – conjure small bumps of luck and fortune into Jamie's path. Jamie's never told anyone about the magic, but when she and Sarina have an especially bitter confrontation, it slips out. In desperation, Jamie gives her mother – a campaigning lawyer who has withdrawn from life and become a hermit – a demonstration of magic. Her mother approaches the demonstration with a lawyer's don't-bullshit-me skepticism, but something in her responds to the magic, and when Jamie leaves her, Sarina tries to bring back her dead wife, a forbidden conjuring that has disastrous consequences. Jamie had hoped to give her mother something to live for, but catastrophic magical experimentation wasn't what she had in mind. Soon, Jamie is dragged into Sarina's life, to the detriment of her relationship with Ro, a fellow academic who is rightfully suspicious of Sarina and the effect she has on Jamie. When Ro finds out about the magic, the relationship breaks, and now Jamie has to face her problems alone. Those problems keep mounting. Jamie is working on a dissertation about a 300 year old "ladies' novel" that promises to reveal some profound truth about the life of its author and her challenge to the role that she finds herself confined to as a woman, but it's slow going, and Jamie's advisor is at pains to remind her that there are dramatic changes in the offing to the university, and that Jamie had best get that thesis in soon. Meanwhile, the Men's Rights Activist bro in Jamie's class keeps upping the ante, mixing disruptive "just asking questions" behavior with thinly veiled transphobic digs (Jamie is trans, a fact that is woven around her relationship to her mother and to magic). Anders tosses a lot of differently shaped objects into the air, and then juggles them, interspersing the main action with excerpts from imaginary 18th century novels (which themselves contain imaginary parables) that serve as both a prestige and a framing device. There's a lot of queer joy in here, a hell of a lot of media theory, and some very chewy ruminations on the far-right mediasphere. There's romance and heartbreak, danger and sacrifice, and most of all, there's that ambiguous magic, which gets realer and scarier as the action goes on. This is a wonderful magic trick of a novel from a versatile author whose work includes YA space opera, hard sf adventure stories, and a wealth of brilliant short stories. It's a remarkably easy novel to read, given how much very difficult stuff Anders is doing in the writing, and it lingers long after you finish the last page. Hey look at this (permalink)  • Google admits anti-competitive conduct involving Google Search in Australia https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/google-admits-anti-competitive-conduct-involving-google-search-in-australia • The twilight of tech unilateralism https://www.programmablemutter.com/p/the-twilight-of-tech-unilateralism • MIT report: 95% of generative AI pilots at companies are failing https://fortune.com/2025/08/18/mit-report-95-percent-generative-ai-pilots-at-companies-failing-cfo/ • ‘Ad Blocking is Not Piracy’ Decision Overturned By Top German Court https://torrentfreak.com/ad-blocking-is-not-piracy-decision-overturned-by-top-german-court-250819/ 
 Object permanence (permalink) #20yrsago US CD/DVD bootlegging is not run by organized crime https://memex.craphound.com/2005/08/18/us-cd-dvd-bootlegging-is-not-run-by-organized-crime/ #20yrsago Lem’s tensor algebra poem, annotated https://web.archive.org/web/20051107014429/http://cheesedip.com/2005/08/18/lem_love__tensor_algebra.php #20yrsago Hunter S Thompson’s ashes to be sent high on fireworks https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/22/us/ashestofireworks-sendoff-for-an-outlaw-writer.html #20yrsago Southern Baptist guide to non-gay Disney movies https://web.archive.org/web/20050917042544/http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=21416 #20yrsago ItPlaysDoom: catalog of devices capable of running Doom https://web.archive.org/web/20070226184902/http://www.itplaysdoom.com/ #10yrsago Women of the Haunted Mansion cosplayers at SDCC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJptS52CZIw #10yrsago Gallery of deserted Chinese amusement parks https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2015/aug/14/china-deserted-amusement-parks-stefano-cerio #10yrsago New pornoscanners are also useless, cost $160 million https://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/airport-security-price-for-tsa-failed-body-scanners-160-million-121385.html #10yrsago Gender and sf awards: who wins and for what http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2015/08/data-books-and-bias.html #10yrsago The End of the Internet Dream: the speech that won Black Hat (and Defcon) https://web.archive.org/web/20150818104913/https://medium.com/backchannel/the-end-of-the-internet-dream-ba060b17da61 #10yrsago Piracy vs the MPAA: yet another box-office record smashed https://www.techdirt.com/2015/08/18/hollywood-keeps-breaking-box-office-records-while-still-insisting-that-internet-is-killing-movies/ #10yrsago Stephen Hawking’s speech synthesizer now free/open software https://www.wired.com/2015/08/stephen-hawking-software-open-source/ #10yrsago Defector from Kremlin’s outsourced troll army wins 1 rouble in damages https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33972122 #10yrsago Chuck Wendig’s Zeroes: a hacker technothriller in the War Games lineage https://memex.craphound.com/2015/08/18/chuck-wendigs-zeroes-a-hacker-technothriller-in-the-war-games-lineage/ #10yrsago Dismaland: Banksy’s (?) swipe at Disneyland https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/aug/18/banksy-weston-super-mare-dismaland #10yrsago Giant dump of data purports to be from Ashleymadison.com https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/08/data-from-hack-of-ashley-madison-cheater-site-purportedly-dumped-online/ #10yrsago Iran arms deal prosecution falls apart because of warrantless laptop search https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/08/warrantless-airport-laptop-search-dooms-iran-arms-sales-prosecution/ #10yrsago The (real) hard problem of AI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mukaRhQTMP8 #10yrsago Airport security confiscates three year old’s fart gun https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/toddler-has-his-minions-fart-gun-confiscated-at-dublin-airport-for-posing-security-threat-10457743.html #5yrsago South Africa's copyright and human rights https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/18/fifth-pig/#3-steps #5yrsago Upbeat surveillance marketing https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/18/fifth-pig/#hikvision #5yrsago Fed cops substitute dollars for warrants https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/18/fifth-pig/#ppp #5yrsago Deindustrialization is a market failure https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/18/fifth-pig/#deindustrialization #5yrsago Mr Cook, Tear Down That Wall https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/18/fifth-pig/#no-true-scotsman #5yrsago "Fuck the algorithm" https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/18/fifth-pig/#a-levels #5yrsago The Fifth Pig https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/18/fifth-pig/#5th-pig Upcoming appearances (permalink)  • Ithaca: AD White keynote (Cornell), Sep 12
https://deanoffaculty.cornell.edu/events/keynote-cory-doctorow-professor-at-large/ • DC: Enshittification at Politics and Prose, Oct 8
https://politics-prose.com/cory-doctorow-10825 • New Orleans: DeepSouthCon63, Oct 10-12
http://www.contraflowscifi.org/ • Chicago: Enshittification with Kara Swisher (Chicago Humanities), Oct 15
https://www.oldtownschool.org/concerts/2025/10-15-2025-kara-swisher-and-cory-doctorow-on-enshittification/ • San Francisco: Enshittification at Public Works (The Booksmith), Oct 20
https://app.gopassage.com/events/doctorow25 • Miami: Enshittification at Books & Books, Nov 5
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening-with-cory-doctorow-tickets-1504647263469 
 Recent appearances (permalink) • Divesting from Amazon’s Audible and the Fight for Digital Rights (Libro.fm)
https://pocketcasts.com/podcasts/9349e8d0-a87f-013a-d8af-0acc26574db2/00e6cbcf-7f27-4589-a11e-93e4ab59c04b • The Utopias Podcast
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2272465/episodes/17650124 • Tariffs vs IP Law (Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFABFe-5-uQ 
 Latest books (permalink) • "Picks and Shovels": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about the heroic era of the PC, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2025 (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels). • "The Bezzle": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2024 (the-bezzle.org). • "The Lost Cause:" a solarpunk novel of hope in the climate emergency, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), November 2023 (http://lost-cause.org). • "The Internet Con": A nonfiction book about interoperability and Big Tech (Verso) September 2023 (http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org). Signed copies at Book Soup (https://www.booksoup.com/book/9781804291245). • "Red Team Blues": "A grabby, compulsive thriller that will leave you knowing more about how the world works than you did before." Tor Books http://redteamblues.com. • "Chokepoint Capitalism: How to Beat Big Tech, Tame Big Content, and Get Artists Paid, with Rebecca Giblin", on how to unrig the markets for creative labor, Beacon Press/Scribe 2022 https://chokepointcapitalism.com 
 Upcoming books (permalink) • "Canny Valley": A limited edition collection of the collages I create for Pluralistic, self-published, September 2025 • "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, October 7 2025
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/ • "Unauthorized Bread": a middle-grades graphic novel adapted from my novella about refugees, toasters and DRM, FirstSecond, 2026 • "Enshittification, Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It" (the graphic novel), Firstsecond, 2026 • "The Memex Method," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2026 • "The Reverse-Centaur's Guide to AI," a short book about being a better AI critic, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2026 
 Colophon (permalink) Today's top sources: Currently writing: • "The Reverse Centaur's Guide to AI," a short book for Farrar, Straus and Giroux about being an effective AI critic. (1022 words yesterday, 11212 words total). • A Little Brother short story about DIY insulin PLANNING  This work – excluding any serialized fiction – is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. That means you can use it any way you like, including commercially, provided that you attribute it to me, Cory Doctorow, and include a link to pluralistic.net. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Quotations and images are not included in this license; they are included either under a limitation or exception to copyright, or on the basis of a separate license. Please exercise caution. How to get Pluralistic: Blog (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): Pluralistic.net Newsletter (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://pluralistic.net/plura-list Mastodon (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic Medium (no ads, paywalled): https://doctorow.medium.com/ Twitter (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://twitter.com/doctorow Tumblr (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://mostlysignssomeportents.tumblr.com/tagged/pluralistic "When life gives you SARS, you make sarsaparilla" -Joey "Accordion Guy" DeVilla READ CAREFULLY: By reading this, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies ("BOGUS AGREEMENTS") that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer. ISSN: 3066-764X 
 Today's links • Charlie Jane Anders' "Lessons in Magic and Disaster.": Families, they fuck you up (magically). • Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. • Object permanence: HST in space; It Plays Doom; Deserted Chinese themeparks; Banksy's Dismaland; Dollars are better than warrants; "Fuck the algorithm." • Upcoming appearances: Where to find me. • Recent appearances: Where I've been. • Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em. • Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em. • Colophon: All the rest. 
 Charlie Jane Anders' "Lessons in Magic and Disaster." (permalink) Charlie Jane Anders' Lessons in Magic and Disaster drops today: it's a novel about queer academia, the wonder of thinking very hard about very old books, and the terror and joy of ambiguous magic. It's my kind of novel! https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250867322/lessonsinmagicanddisaster/ There's a kind of magic I love to read about – the kind where it's not entirely clear whether the person purporting to do magic is acting entirely on instinct, and neither they nor we can be entirely sure whether anything magical has actually happened. This ambiguity just tickles something in me, the part of my brain that tries to bear down on traffic lights to make them turn green, or on board-game dice to get a good roll. It's the mode of Iain Banks's The Wasp Factory and Kelly Link's Book of Love. It's a mode that Anders does superbly, and has done since her 2016 debut novel, All the Birds in the Sky: https://memex.craphound.com/2016/01/26/charlie-jane-anderss-all-the-birds-in-the-sky-smartass-soulful-novel/ That's the kind of magic at the heart of Magic and Disaster, which tells the story of Jamie, a doctoral candidate at a New England liberal arts college who is trying to hold it all together while she finishes her dissertation. For Jamie, holding it together is a tall order. Her relationship is on the rocks, her advisor is breathing down her neck, a smartass alt-right kid in her class keeps trolling her lectures, and to top it all off, her mother Sarina has withdrawn from society and is self-evidently preparing to lie down and die, out of grief and penance for the death of her wife, who died of cancer that everyone – her doctors and Sarina – downplayed until it was too late. That would be an impossible lift, except for Jamie's gift for maybe-magic – magic that might or might not be real. Certain places ("liminal spaces") call to Jamie. These are abandoned, dirty, despoiled places, ruins and dumps and littered campsites. When Jamie finds one of these places, she can improvise a ritual, using the things in her pockets and school bag as talismans that might – or might not – conjure small bumps of luck and fortune into Jamie's path. Jamie's never told anyone about the magic, but when she and Sarina have an especially bitter confrontation, it slips out. In desperation, Jamie gives her mother – a campaigning lawyer who has withdrawn from life and become a hermit – a demonstration of magic. Her mother approaches the demonstration with a lawyer's don't-bullshit-me skepticism, but something in her responds to the magic, and when Jamie leaves her, Sarina tries to bring back her dead wife, a forbidden conjuring that has disastrous consequences. Jamie had hoped to give her mother something to live for, but catastrophic magical experimentation wasn't what she had in mind. Soon, Jamie is dragged into Sarina's life, to the detriment of her relationship with Ro, a fellow academic who is rightfully suspicious of Sarina and the effect she has on Jamie. When Ro finds out about the magic, the relationship breaks, and now Jamie has to face her problems alone. Those problems keep mounting. Jamie is working on a dissertation about a 300 year old "ladies' novel" that promises to reveal some profound truth about the life of its author and her challenge to the role that she finds herself confined to as a woman, but it's slow going, and Jamie's advisor is at pains to remind her that there are dramatic changes in the offing to the university, and that Jamie had best get that thesis in soon. Meanwhile, the Men's Rights Activist bro in Jamie's class keeps upping the ante, mixing disruptive "just asking questions" behavior with thinly veiled transphobic digs (Jamie is trans, a fact that is woven around her relationship to her mother and to magic). Anders tosses a lot of differently shaped objects into the air, and then juggles them, interspersing the main action with excerpts from imaginary 18th century novels (which themselves contain imaginary parables) that serve as both a prestige and a framing device. There's a lot of queer joy in here, a hell of a lot of media theory, and some very chewy ruminations on the far-right mediasphere. There's romance and heartbreak, danger and sacrifice, and most of all, there's that ambiguous magic, which gets realer and scarier as the action goes on. This is a wonderful magic trick of a novel from a versatile author whose work includes YA space opera, hard sf adventure stories, and a wealth of brilliant short stories. It's a remarkably easy novel to read, given how much very difficult stuff Anders is doing in the writing, and it lingers long after you finish the last page. Hey look at this (permalink) • Google admits anti-competitive conduct involving Google Search in Australia https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/google-admits-anti-competitive-conduct-involving-google-search-in-australia • The twilight of tech unilateralism https://www.programmablemutter.com/p/the-twilight-of-tech-unilateralism • MIT report: 95% of generative AI pilots at companies are failing https://fortune.com/2025/08/18/mit-report-95-percent-generative-ai-pilots-at-companies-failing-cfo/ • ‘Ad Blocking is Not Piracy’ Decision Overturned By Top German Court https://torrentfreak.com/ad-blocking-is-not-piracy-decision-overturned-by-top-german-court-250819/ 
 Object permanence (permalink) #20yrsago US CD/DVD bootlegging is not run by organized crime https://memex.craphound.com/2005/08/18/us-cd-dvd-bootlegging-is-not-run-by-organized-crime/ #20yrsago Lem’s tensor algebra poem, annotated https://web.archive.org/web/20051107014429/http://cheesedip.com/2005/08/18/lem_love__tensor_algebra.php #20yrsago Hunter S Thompson’s ashes to be sent high on fireworks https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/22/us/ashestofireworks-sendoff-for-an-outlaw-writer.html #20yrsago Southern Baptist guide to non-gay Disney movies https://web.archive.org/web/20050917042544/http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=21416 #20yrsago ItPlaysDoom: catalog of devices capable of running Doom https://web.archive.org/web/20070226184902/http://www.itplaysdoom.com/ #10yrsago Women of the Haunted Mansion cosplayers at SDCC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJptS52CZIw #10yrsago Gallery of deserted Chinese amusement parks https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2015/aug/14/china-deserted-amusement-parks-stefano-cerio #10yrsago New pornoscanners are also useless, cost $160 million https://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/airport-security-price-for-tsa-failed-body-scanners-160-million-121385.html #10yrsago Gender and sf awards: who wins and for what http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2015/08/data-books-and-bias.html #10yrsago The End of the Internet Dream: the speech that won Black Hat (and Defcon) https://web.archive.org/web/20150818104913/https://medium.com/backchannel/the-end-of-the-internet-dream-ba060b17da61 #10yrsago Piracy vs the MPAA: yet another box-office record smashed https://www.techdirt.com/2015/08/18/hollywood-keeps-breaking-box-office-records-while-still-insisting-that-internet-is-killing-movies/ #10yrsago Stephen Hawking’s speech synthesizer now free/open software https://www.wired.com/2015/08/stephen-hawking-software-open-source/ #10yrsago Defector from Kremlin’s outsourced troll army wins 1 rouble in damages https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33972122 #10yrsago Chuck Wendig’s Zeroes: a hacker technothriller in the War Games lineage https://memex.craphound.com/2015/08/18/chuck-wendigs-zeroes-a-hacker-technothriller-in-the-war-games-lineage/ #10yrsago Dismaland: Banksy’s (?) swipe at Disneyland https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/aug/18/banksy-weston-super-mare-dismaland #10yrsago Giant dump of data purports to be from Ashleymadison.com https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/08/data-from-hack-of-ashley-madison-cheater-site-purportedly-dumped-online/ #10yrsago Iran arms deal prosecution falls apart because of warrantless laptop search https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/08/warrantless-airport-laptop-search-dooms-iran-arms-sales-prosecution/ #10yrsago The (real) hard problem of AI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mukaRhQTMP8 #10yrsago Airport security confiscates three year old’s fart gun https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/toddler-has-his-minions-fart-gun-confiscated-at-dublin-airport-for-posing-security-threat-10457743.html #5yrsago South Africa's copyright and human rights https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/18/fifth-pig/#3-steps #5yrsago Upbeat surveillance marketing https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/18/fifth-pig/#hikvision #5yrsago Fed cops substitute dollars for warrants https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/18/fifth-pig/#ppp #5yrsago Deindustrialization is a market failure https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/18/fifth-pig/#deindustrialization #5yrsago Mr Cook, Tear Down That Wall https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/18/fifth-pig/#no-true-scotsman #5yrsago "Fuck the algorithm" https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/18/fifth-pig/#a-levels #5yrsago The Fifth Pig https://pluralistic.net/2020/08/18/fifth-pig/#5th-pig Upcoming appearances (permalink) • Ithaca: AD White keynote (Cornell), Sep 12
https://deanoffaculty.cornell.edu/events/keynote-cory-doctorow-professor-at-large/ • DC: Enshittification at Politics and Prose, Oct 8
https://politics-prose.com/cory-doctorow-10825 • New Orleans: DeepSouthCon63, Oct 10-12
http://www.contraflowscifi.org/ • Chicago: Enshittification with Kara Swisher (Chicago Humanities), Oct 15
https://www.oldtownschool.org/concerts/2025/10-15-2025-kara-swisher-and-cory-doctorow-on-enshittification/ • San Francisco: Enshittification at Public Works (The Booksmith), Oct 20
https://app.gopassage.com/events/doctorow25 • Miami: Enshittification at Books & Books, Nov 5
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening-with-cory-doctorow-tickets-1504647263469 
 Recent appearances (permalink) • Divesting from Amazon’s Audible and the Fight for Digital Rights (Libro.fm)
https://pocketcasts.com/podcasts/9349e8d0-a87f-013a-d8af-0acc26574db2/00e6cbcf-7f27-4589-a11e-93e4ab59c04b • The Utopias Podcast
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2272465/episodes/17650124 • Tariffs vs IP Law (Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFABFe-5-uQ 
 Latest books (permalink) • "Picks and Shovels": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about the heroic era of the PC, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2025 (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels). • "The Bezzle": a sequel to "Red Team Blues," about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2024 (the-bezzle.org). • "The Lost Cause:" a solarpunk novel of hope in the climate emergency, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), November 2023 (http://lost-cause.org). • "The Internet Con": A nonfiction book about interoperability and Big Tech (Verso) September 2023 (http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org). Signed copies at Book Soup (https://www.booksoup.com/book/9781804291245). • "Red Team Blues": "A grabby, compulsive thriller that will leave you knowing more about how the world works than you did before." Tor Books http://redteamblues.com. • "Chokepoint Capitalism: How to Beat Big Tech, Tame Big Content, and Get Artists Paid, with Rebecca Giblin", on how to unrig the markets for creative labor, Beacon Press/Scribe 2022 https://chokepointcapitalism.com 
 Upcoming books (permalink) • "Canny Valley": A limited edition collection of the collages I create for Pluralistic, self-published, September 2025 • "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, October 7 2025
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/ • "Unauthorized Bread": a middle-grades graphic novel adapted from my novella about refugees, toasters and DRM, FirstSecond, 2026 • "Enshittification, Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It" (the graphic novel), Firstsecond, 2026 • "The Memex Method," Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2026 • "The Reverse-Centaur's Guide to AI," a short book about being a better AI critic, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2026 
 Colophon (permalink) Today's top sources: Currently writing: • "The Reverse Centaur's Guide to AI," a short book for Farrar, Straus and Giroux about being an effective AI critic. (1022 words yesterday, 11212 words total). • A Little Brother short story about DIY insulin PLANNING This work – excluding any serialized fiction – is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. That means you can use it any way you like, including commercially, provided that you attribute it to me, Cory Doctorow, and include a link to pluralistic.net. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Quotations and images are not included in this license; they are included either under a limitation or exception to copyright, or on the basis of a separate license. Please exercise caution. How to get Pluralistic: Blog (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): Pluralistic.net Newsletter (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://pluralistic.net/plura-list Mastodon (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic Medium (no ads, paywalled): https://doctorow.medium.com/ Twitter (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://twitter.com/doctorow Tumblr (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://mostlysignssomeportents.tumblr.com/tagged/pluralistic "When life gives you SARS, you make sarsaparilla" -Joey "Accordion Guy" DeVilla READ CAREFULLY: By reading this, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies ("BOGUS AGREEMENTS") that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer. ISSN: 3066-764X

The future of the renewable energy sector is female and Electricity and Energy Deputy Minister, Samantha Graham-Maré, is doubling down to make it happen. In an exclusive interview with SAnews on the sidelines of the Empowering Women in Energy breakfast, Graham-Maré revealed plans to review the department's gender strategy to make it better equipped to shatter barriers and catapult women into leadership roles across electricity, renewables and previously uncharted fields like green hydrogen. The event was held as part of the third G20 Energy Transitions Working Group (ETWG) in the North West. "[The review is] giving us an opportunity to look at what worked and what didn't work in the past, and then obviously to formulate a strategy that's going to focus on the things that we need to do better while bringing women in," she said on Friday. Finding parity The International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that the sector is one of the least gender diverse, with women making up less than 20% of the workforce worldwide, while also earning at least 15% less than their male counterparts. Meaningfully changing that, according to Graham-Maré, begins with getting young women enthusiastic about science, technology, engineering and mathematics with a view of entering the sector. "We have got to start instilling some sort of understanding in young girls that this is an opportunity and that they have opportunities in the energy space. There are girls in villages in South Africa that have never heard of nuclear science, that have never heard of renewable energy and that don't even know jobs like this exist. "We have to find ways... to reach particularly the rural youth and get that message out to them," Graham-Maré said. Bridging the awareness gap The department will be partnering with organisations to reach those youth and conduct roadshows at universities. "We're going to speak to some of the students there because we believe a lot of them are feeling a bit demoralised... They're not sure that there are going to be jobs for them when they finish studying. "We're partnering with a lot of our IPPs [Independent Power Producers], with some of the department members to go out to universities and have those conversations. "We're also developing a youth strategy. The focus will be both on women and youth, and making sure that they understand that there is space for them," she said. However, Graham-Maré emphasised that for the industry to grow and create new jobs, government must do its part. "What we have to do is make sure that our IRP [Integrated Resource Plan] gets properly implemented and that we're creating the pipeline of projects that will create the jobs. "We also have the South African Renewable Energy Masterplan that we've launched, which is focusing on two things: industrialisation... looking at ways we can build manufacturing capability in the country, and we're looking at how we can build the service industry around the renewable energy sector," she said. A "very strong focus" will also be placed on skills development in the sector. "There are new skills required in the new industries and we need to make sure that people are ready for that. "The just energy transition is looking at how we transition people from a coal economy... into the renewable sector and the green economy. There'll be a lot of focus on... reskilling, upskilling, and also new opportunities within the renewable sector that didn't necessarily exist within the coal economy," Graham-Maré told SAnews. Crushing barriers Reflecting on her own journey over the past year as Deputy Minister in a male dominated sector, Graham-Maré told SAnews that she has been enthralled by the "incredible women" already working in the energy space. "We are talking about women engineers. We're talking about PhDs. The women in the energy space are absolutely mind blowing. "Another very interesting thing is that green hydrogen is... a sort of new development within the energy space. And because it didn't exist before, women are not having to elbow their way in... It's a space that's opened up completely. Women are owning the green hydrogen space," she said. The Deputy Minister acknowledged that there is "always room for improvement". "But I can assure you, women are owning this energy space and they're doing it with class... They are looking fabulous. They are owning the space and we're looking at ways that we can support them to make sure that they continue," Graham-Maré concluded.

James Baldwin knew that racism, properly understood, is a question of tyranny: wherever it persists, democracy does not.

Author James Baldwin was born in 1924 James Baldwin was born on this day in 1924 in Harlem New York City. Baldwin would become a celebrated author whose characters often sought acceptance into society. He included gay and bisexual men as characters in many of this works. Baldwin wrote essays, plays, and novels, often embracing themes relating to race, masculinity, sexuality and class. His first novel Go Tell It On The Mountain was released in 1953 and is largely autobiographical focusing on the role of the Pentecostal church in the lives of African Americans. Baldwin’s second novel Giovanni’s Room was released in 1956 and tells the story of an American man living in Paris and exploring the city’s gay bars. It is credited with prompting more widespread discussion about sexuality, and was released several years before the Stonewall riots.  The author continued to feature gay and bisexual characters in his following books including Another Country (1962) and Tell Me How Long The Trains Been Gone (1968). In the 1960’s Baldwin was a prominent contributor to the civil rights movement and later wrote about his book length essay No Name in the Street which reflected on his friendships with Sidney Poitier, Martin Luther King Jr, Malcom X and Medgar Evans – who were all assassinated. Baldwin’s 1974 novel If Beale Street Could Talk was adapted into a film in 2018. During his life Baldwin was friends with Nina Simone, Marlon Brando, Jean Genet, Toni Morrison, Miles Davis, Richard Avedon, Jean-Paul Sartre and many other leading creative and literary figures. He died in Paris in 1987 after battling stomach cancer. He has been cited as one of the most important writers of the 2oth century. In June 2019 he was one of inaugural fifty American “pioneers, trailblazers and heroes” inducted on the the USA’s National LGBTQ Wall of Honour within the Stonewall monument. Author William Burroughs died in 1997 As an author Burroughs was a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major post-modern author who had a big effect on popular culture. Prior to publishing his first novels, Burroughs lived a life that took him to many countries, and several incidents with the law. While studying English and Anthropology at Harvard University, he would travel to New York on the weekends an explore lesbian dives and piano bars in Harlem and the homosexual underground in Greenwich Village. In the 1930’s Burroughs moved to Europe and attended medical school in Vienna. Here he delved into the Weimar-era LGBT culture and spent time picking up young men in the city’s steam baths. Here he met Ilse Klapper, a Jewish woman fleeing the Nazi government, though never romantically involved Burroughs married Klapper so she could escape to the USA. The pair divorced soon after but remained friends for many years. He joined the army during World War II signing up in 1942, but a year later he was living in New York where he developed a drug addiction that followed him for the rest of his life. Here he made friends with Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, their work as poets and writers would become central to the foundation of the Beat Generation and 1960’s counter-culture movements. In 1944 Burroughs began living with Joan Vollmer, she already had a daughter from a previous relationship, and soon the couple added a son to their family. Both Burroughs and Voller struggled with mental health and drug addiction. After spending time in Louisiana and Texas, the couple moved to Mexico to avoid Burroughs being sent to prison after he caught forging a doctor’s prescription for drugs. Once in Mexico Burroughs and Volmer from all accounts had an unhappy life, free of heroin his libido returned and he was pursuing other men, while Volmer became an alcoholic. One night in as Mexico City bar Burroughs pulled a revolver from his bag and told Vollmer it was time to do their ‘William Tell’ act. There was no indication the couple had ever previously performed the act – Vollmer balanced a highball glass on her head, and Burroughs fired the pistol at her, shooting her in the head and killing her almost instantly. While awaiting trial in Mexico Burroughs wrote what would later become the novel Queer. Before he got to trial his lawyer, who had his own legal problems, ran away. Burroughs also decided to skip out on the trial and the country. He was convicted in absentia of homicide. Next Burroughs spent several months in South America searching for a drug called yage, which reportedly gave users telepathic abilities. His letters correspondence with Ginsberg during this time formed The Yage Letters which was published in 1963 – it was later revealed the letters were mostly fictional. In 1953 Burroughs’ first book Junkie was published. Later Queer was published. The author relocated to Tangiers in Morocco where he spent four years writing his next work The Naked Lunch.  The novel would be acclaimed for it’s unconventional style, but also faced challenges from authorities who ruled it’s blunt depictions of homosexuality and drug use. In Massachusetts Burroughs was prosecuted for producing obscenity, but the court ruled the work not obscene. Finding success in the 1960’s Burroughs spent time living in Paris and London before retuning to the USA in the 1970s. In the early 1980’s he relocated to Kansas. Among his novels are The Soft Machine, Nova Express, The Ticket Exploded and Wild Boys.  Acclaimed a literary genius by critics, Burroughs also inspired many musicians, David Bowie, Kurt Cobain, Ian Curtis, Tom Waits, Patti Smith and Genesis P-Orridge all cited as a hero. In his latter year Burroughs often collaborated with musicians, he made the album Seven Souls with Bill Laswell, collaborated with Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy on another, worked with Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain and Kris Novoselic, REM, Yellow Magic Orchestra and electronic band Spring Hell Jack. Burroughs novels have often be described as unfilmable, but a few of his works have been adapted for the screen. In the 1980’s director Russel Mulcahy planned to created film version of The Wild Boys, and Duran Duran even created a song for the project. The film never eventuated and instead Mulcahy created the concert film Arena with the band that included narrative elements and drew upon the film Barbarella which was the source of the band’s name. In 1991 director David Cronenberg directed a film adaptation of Naked Lunch, starring Peter Weller, Judy Davis, Ian Holm and Roy Scheider. It was a failure at the box office, but got critical acclaim and became known as a cult classic. Director Luca Guadagnino had more success with his 2024 adaptation of Queer which starred Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey and Jason Schwartzman and Lesley Manville. William Burroughs died on 2nd August 1997, aged 83, having suffered a heart attack the previous day. Photograph of James Baldwin by Allan Warren published under Creative Commons 3.0 SA.
This post was originally published on 2nd August 2020 and has been updated.     The post On This Gay Day | Author James Baldwin was born appeared first on OUTinPerth. Author James Baldwin was born in 1924 James Baldwin was born on this day in 1924 in Harlem New York City. Baldwin would become a celebrated author whose characters often sought acceptance into society. He included gay and bisexual men as characters in many of this works. Baldwin wrote essays, plays, and novels, often embracing themes relating to race, masculinity, sexuality and class. His first novel Go Tell It On The Mountain was released in 1953 and is largely autobiographical focusing on the role of the Pentecostal church in the lives of African Americans. Baldwin’s second novel Giovanni’s Room was released in 1956 and tells the story of an American man living in Paris and exploring the city’s gay bars. It is credited with prompting more widespread discussion about sexuality, and was released several years before the Stonewall riots. The author continued to feature gay and bisexual characters in his following books including Another Country (1962) and Tell Me How Long The Trains Been Gone (1968). In the 1960’s Baldwin was a prominent contributor to the civil rights movement and later wrote about his book length essay No Name in the Street which reflected on his friendships with Sidney Poitier, Martin Luther King Jr, Malcom X and Medgar Evans – who were all assassinated. Baldwin’s 1974 novel If Beale Street Could Talk was adapted into a film in 2018. During his life Baldwin was friends with Nina Simone, Marlon Brando, Jean Genet, Toni Morrison, Miles Davis, Richard Avedon, Jean-Paul Sartre and many other leading creative and literary figures. He died in Paris in 1987 after battling stomach cancer. He has been cited as one of the most important writers of the 2oth century. In June 2019 he was one of inaugural fifty American “pioneers, trailblazers and heroes” inducted on the the USA’s National LGBTQ Wall of Honour within the Stonewall monument. Author William Burroughs died in 1997 As an author Burroughs was a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major post-modern author who had a big effect on popular culture. Prior to publishing his first novels, Burroughs lived a life that took him to many countries, and several incidents with the law. While studying English and Anthropology at Harvard University, he would travel to New York on the weekends an explore lesbian dives and piano bars in Harlem and the homosexual underground in Greenwich Village. In the 1930’s Burroughs moved to Europe and attended medical school in Vienna. Here he delved into the Weimar-era LGBT culture and spent time picking up young men in the city’s steam baths. Here he met Ilse Klapper, a Jewish woman fleeing the Nazi government, though never romantically involved Burroughs married Klapper so she could escape to the USA. The pair divorced soon after but remained friends for many years. He joined the army during World War II signing up in 1942, but a year later he was living in New York where he developed a drug addiction that followed him for the rest of his life. Here he made friends with Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, their work as poets and writers would become central to the foundation of the Beat Generation and 1960’s counter-culture movements. In 1944 Burroughs began living with Joan Vollmer, she already had a daughter from a previous relationship, and soon the couple added a son to their family. Both Burroughs and Voller struggled with mental health and drug addiction. After spending time in Louisiana and Texas, the couple moved to Mexico to avoid Burroughs being sent to prison after he caught forging a doctor’s prescription for drugs. Once in Mexico Burroughs and Volmer from all accounts had an unhappy life, free of heroin his libido returned and he was pursuing other men, while Volmer became an alcoholic. One night in as Mexico City bar Burroughs pulled a revolver from his bag and told Vollmer it was time to do their ‘William Tell’ act. There was no indication the couple had ever previously performed the act – Vollmer balanced a highball glass on her head, and Burroughs fired the pistol at her, shooting her in the head and killing her almost instantly. While awaiting trial in Mexico Burroughs wrote what would later become the novel Queer. Before he got to trial his lawyer, who had his own legal problems, ran away. Burroughs also decided to skip out on the trial and the country. He was convicted in absentia of homicide. Next Burroughs spent several months in South America searching for a drug called yage, which reportedly gave users telepathic abilities. His letters correspondence with Ginsberg during this time formed The Yage Letters which was published in 1963 – it was later revealed the letters were mostly fictional. In 1953 Burroughs’ first book Junkie was published. Later Queer was published. The author relocated to Tangiers in Morocco where he spent four years writing his next work The Naked Lunch.  The novel would be acclaimed for it’s unconventional style, but also faced challenges from authorities who ruled it’s blunt depictions of homosexuality and drug use. In Massachusetts Burroughs was prosecuted for producing obscenity, but the court ruled the work not obscene. Finding success in the 1960’s Burroughs spent time living in Paris and London before retuning to the USA in the 1970s. In the early 1980’s he relocated to Kansas. Among his novels are The Soft Machine, Nova Express, The Ticket Exploded and Wild Boys.  Acclaimed a literary genius by critics, Burroughs also inspired many musicians, David Bowie, Kurt Cobain, Ian Curtis, Tom Waits, Patti Smith and Genesis P-Orridge all cited as a hero. In his latter year Burroughs often collaborated with musicians, he made the album Seven Souls with Bill Laswell, collaborated with Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy on another, worked with Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain and Kris Novoselic, REM, Yellow Magic Orchestra and electronic band Spring Hell Jack. Burroughs novels have often be described as unfilmable, but a few of his works have been adapted for the screen. In the 1980’s director Russel Mulcahy planned to created film version of The Wild Boys, and Duran Duran even created a song for the project. The film never eventuated and instead Mulcahy created the concert film Arena with the band that included narrative elements and drew upon the film Barbarella which was the source of the band’s name. In 1991 director David Cronenberg directed a film adaptation of Naked Lunch, starring Peter Weller, Judy Davis, Ian Holm and Roy Scheider. It was a failure at the box office, but got critical acclaim and became known as a cult classic. Director Luca Guadagnino had more success with his 2024 adaptation of Queer which starred Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey and Jason Schwartzman and Lesley Manville. William Burroughs died on 2nd August 1997, aged 83, having suffered a heart attack the previous day. Photograph of James Baldwin by Allan Warren published under Creative Commons 3.0 SA.
This post was originally published on 2nd August 2020 and has been updated.     The post On This Gay Day | Author James Baldwin was born appeared first on OUTinPerth.

How Safe Are LGBTQ+ Travelers : ITB Berlin Highlights Global Trends  The ITB Berlin trade show has historically been a bastion of diversity in tourism, and its latest survey illuminates a growing concern: how safe LGBTQ+ travelers feel all over the world. For the first time, ITB Berlin has, in association with Diversity Tourism and A3M Global Monitoring, commissioned a comprehensive study analysing the experiences of LGBT travellers, i.e., with regard to social acceptance, safety, and the problems that may arise in specific destinations. Known as “Perceptions and Experiences of LGBTQ+ Travelers,” the survey has yielded highly valuable data on not only where LGBTQ+ travelers feel safe, but also in areas where acceptance is still lacking. The survey was carried out from December 2024 until April 2025, not only with the intention of assessing the lived experiences of LGBTQ people while travelling (beyond the prism of the law) but also focusing on feelings of safety, social climate, and instances of experiences during travel. Canada and Spain: Welcoming and Safe for LGBTQ+ Tourists One of the most significant results in the ITB Berlin study is to consider Canada and Spain as the safest countries for LGBTQ+ visitors. Both countries scored high in terms of attitude towards social acceptance and public behavior. Over 90% of respondents said that showing affection in public is not an issue. Spain was singled out in particular for being consistently LGBTQ+ friendly, with cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, and Mediterranean coastal towns as hubs for openly welcoming LGBTQ+ communities. Canada is also known for being friendly to LGBTQ+ people, with 71 percent of those surveyed in Canada saying that PDA by same sex couples is okay. Both countries did well on law enforcement, too, with many LGBTQ+ travelers saying they had positive interactions with the police in both Canada and Spain. This is strikingly not the case in many other countries, where such experiences are typically more varied or negative. The USA: A Tale of Two States for LGBTQ+ Safety The ITB survey gave the USA mixed reviews. There are certain parts of the country— a refuge like San Francisco, a progressive city like New York —where everybody’s OK with it, but in much of the country they’re not OK with it.” In the U.S., approximately a third of respondents said that queer couples can show affection and that the police are LGBTQ+ friendly. But the disjuncture between progressive cities and conservative countryside is also clear. This division, exposed by the survey, indicates a broader regional divide in the USA in which safety and social acceptance are not assured for LGBTQ+ travelers in every state.” This contrast indicates that whereas there are places that prioritize and embrace LGBTQ+ rights and inclusions, there are others that can potentially be very challenging with public display of affection or even with just being openly LGBTQ+ in some locations. Germany: Ambivalent Attitudes Despite Legal Advances One might think of the relatively liberal laws in Germany at work for LGBTQ+ rights, such as with marriage equality and equal legal rights; however, opinions might be split when it comes to societal understanding. Germany scored high for legal rights, but there is still an underlying stigma that percolates in public spaces. Indeed, barely half of those surveyed said they felt comfortable showing public affection or engaging with the authorities, despite the country’s good legal framework. The survey results reveal a disparity between the legal status of LGBTQ+ people in Germany and the lived social reality. This could suggest that although the law is supportive of LGBTQ+ rights, there is a question mark over public attitudes to LGBTQ+ people in response to a law, or whether that attitude can vary in some parts, most notably outside main cities such as Berlin. Focusing on Transgender and Intersex Travelers One of the most important findings of the survey was just how divided the LGBTQ+ community is, with regards to perceptions of safety. Transgenders and intersex people suffer even higher levels of discrimination and personal insecurity than gay men or lesbians. Problems, such as misrecognition of gender markers on passports, a lack of security staff receiving training, and the lack of access to gender inclusive facilities were cited as the biggest issues facing trans and intersex travelers worldwide. This is especially the case in regions where legal recognition of non-binary identities is limited, or where gender norms are particularly strict — for example, in parts of the USA, China, and Dubai. Worldwide Events and Rollbacks on Rights for L.G.B.T.Q. People The ITB Berlin poll also pointed to major international progress in LGBTQ+ rights. Achievements included the 2024 decriminalizations of “homosexual” acts in Dominica and Namibia, and the 2025 legalization of same-sex marriage in Thailand. These successes are a hopeful indication that the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights is picking up steam in many parts of the globe. But the survey also cited setbacks, such as in Iraq, which brought in tough laws on the LGBTQ+ community in 2024, and Mali, which made gay sex a crime last December. Indeed, Trinidad and Tobago has itself done a U-turn and brought back the criminality of the gay community. The Future of Safe Travel for LGBTQ+ People With LGBTQ+ travelers, while seeking destinations with both legal protection and social acceptance, some were cautious, the survey found, and there is a greater need for a heavier emphasis on safety and inclusivity. “Now that people are feeling much more confident in the way they live as an LGBTQ+ person, where they can share who they are with the rest of the community without any concern, it’s expected there’s going to be a boost when it comes to supporting countries to be safer,” Diversity Tourism managing director Thomas Bömkes said. The results will be used at ITB Berlin and provide the basis for a broader conversation and resulting action planning process for the industry to be more inclusive, transparent, and cater to the diverse needs of LGBTQ+ travel. The survey is set to be repeated annually, keeping tabs on safety, acceptance, and legalities, and providing a better understanding of global LGBTQ+ travel safety trends.

(Source: ITB Berlin, A3M Global Monitoring, Diversity Tourism) The post How Safe Are LGBTQ+ Travelers : ITB Berlin Highlights Global Trends appeared first on Travel And Tour World. How Safe Are LGBTQ+ Travelers : ITB Berlin Highlights Global Trends The ITB Berlin trade show has historically been a bastion of diversity in tourism, and its latest survey illuminates a growing concern: how safe LGBTQ+ travelers feel all over the world. For the first time, ITB Berlin has, in association with Diversity Tourism and A3M Global Monitoring, commissioned a comprehensive study analysing the experiences of LGBT travellers, i.e., with regard to social acceptance, safety, and the problems that may arise in specific destinations. Known as “Perceptions and Experiences of LGBTQ+ Travelers,” the survey has yielded highly valuable data on not only where LGBTQ+ travelers feel safe, but also in areas where acceptance is still lacking. The survey was carried out from December 2024 until April 2025, not only with the intention of assessing the lived experiences of LGBTQ people while travelling (beyond the prism of the law) but also focusing on feelings of safety, social climate, and instances of experiences during travel. Canada and Spain: Welcoming and Safe for LGBTQ+ Tourists One of the most significant results in the ITB Berlin study is to consider Canada and Spain as the safest countries for LGBTQ+ visitors. Both countries scored high in terms of attitude towards social acceptance and public behavior. Over 90% of respondents said that showing affection in public is not an issue. Spain was singled out in particular for being consistently LGBTQ+ friendly, with cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, and Mediterranean coastal towns as hubs for openly welcoming LGBTQ+ communities. Canada is also known for being friendly to LGBTQ+ people, with 71 percent of those surveyed in Canada saying that PDA by same sex couples is okay. Both countries did well on law enforcement, too, with many LGBTQ+ travelers saying they had positive interactions with the police in both Canada and Spain. This is strikingly not the case in many other countries, where such experiences are typically more varied or negative. The USA: A Tale of Two States for LGBTQ+ Safety The ITB survey gave the USA mixed reviews. There are certain parts of the country— a refuge like San Francisco, a progressive city like New York —where everybody’s OK with it, but in much of the country they’re not OK with it.” In the U.S., approximately a third of respondents said that queer couples can show affection and that the police are LGBTQ+ friendly. But the disjuncture between progressive cities and conservative countryside is also clear. This division, exposed by the survey, indicates a broader regional divide in the USA in which safety and social acceptance are not assured for LGBTQ+ travelers in every state.” This contrast indicates that whereas there are places that prioritize and embrace LGBTQ+ rights and inclusions, there are others that can potentially be very challenging with public display of affection or even with just being openly LGBTQ+ in some locations. Germany: Ambivalent Attitudes Despite Legal Advances One might think of the relatively liberal laws in Germany at work for LGBTQ+ rights, such as with marriage equality and equal legal rights; however, opinions might be split when it comes to societal understanding. Germany scored high for legal rights, but there is still an underlying stigma that percolates in public spaces. Indeed, barely half of those surveyed said they felt comfortable showing public affection or engaging with the authorities, despite the country’s good legal framework. The survey results reveal a disparity between the legal status of LGBTQ+ people in Germany and the lived social reality. This could suggest that although the law is supportive of LGBTQ+ rights, there is a question mark over public attitudes to LGBTQ+ people in response to a law, or whether that attitude can vary in some parts, most notably outside main cities such as Berlin. Focusing on Transgender and Intersex Travelers One of the most important findings of the survey was just how divided the LGBTQ+ community is, with regards to perceptions of safety. Transgenders and intersex people suffer even higher levels of discrimination and personal insecurity than gay men or lesbians. Problems, such as misrecognition of gender markers on passports, a lack of security staff receiving training, and the lack of access to gender inclusive facilities were cited as the biggest issues facing trans and intersex travelers worldwide. This is especially the case in regions where legal recognition of non-binary identities is limited, or where gender norms are particularly strict — for example, in parts of the USA, China, and Dubai. Worldwide Events and Rollbacks on Rights for L.G.B.T.Q. People The ITB Berlin poll also pointed to major international progress in LGBTQ+ rights. Achievements included the 2024 decriminalizations of “homosexual” acts in Dominica and Namibia, and the 2025 legalization of same-sex marriage in Thailand. These successes are a hopeful indication that the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights is picking up steam in many parts of the globe. But the survey also cited setbacks, such as in Iraq, which brought in tough laws on the LGBTQ+ community in 2024, and Mali, which made gay sex a crime last December. Indeed, Trinidad and Tobago has itself done a U-turn and brought back the criminality of the gay community. The Future of Safe Travel for LGBTQ+ People With LGBTQ+ travelers, while seeking destinations with both legal protection and social acceptance, some were cautious, the survey found, and there is a greater need for a heavier emphasis on safety and inclusivity. “Now that people are feeling much more confident in the way they live as an LGBTQ+ person, where they can share who they are with the rest of the community without any concern, it’s expected there’s going to be a boost when it comes to supporting countries to be safer,” Diversity Tourism managing director Thomas Bömkes said. The results will be used at ITB Berlin and provide the basis for a broader conversation and resulting action planning process for the industry to be more inclusive, transparent, and cater to the diverse needs of LGBTQ+ travel. The survey is set to be repeated annually, keeping tabs on safety, acceptance, and legalities, and providing a better understanding of global LGBTQ+ travel safety trends.

(Source: ITB Berlin, A3M Global Monitoring, Diversity Tourism) The post How Safe Are LGBTQ+ Travelers : ITB Berlin Highlights Global Trends appeared first on Travel And Tour World.

Beyond The Feminine: The Politics Of Skin Colour And Gender In Visual Culture is out today  BY DR OPE LORI, IMAGE BY AJAMU X “The erotic is not only sexual, it’s political, it’s philosophical, it’s ephemeral. It’s all these other things as well and that’s the frustration, because we only link it to the sexual body.”  – Ajamu X  These were the words taken from an intimate conversation with Black British queer male photographer Ajamu X, on the politics of the darkroom, the locus of pleasure and the erotic, as we sat in the artist’s home studio. We broached many hot topics that afternoon, not forgetting our unravelling of the term Queer, and whether as a way of being or a mode of doing – “queering” – if the very notion still operated within a binary framework? Queer, as Ajamu X would go on to say, “is like tissue paper and you can get it anywhere.” Of course, there was more context to this throwaway statement, which was ultimately about questioning how we see and do things differently.  The use of the word beyond in the title of the book and the aesthetics of its look, was not to hail some new sci-fi trilogy, although you would be forgiven in thinking so. This is a work that quite simply calls on us to raise our consciousness, especially as we navigate the choppy terrains of current social tensions, gender wars, race wars, executive orders and public disorders. The power of the erotic was coined by Audre Lorde, the self-described “Black, lesbian, mother, warrior and poet”, who was a pivotal figure in the 1980s, with a key body of feminist works. The erotic as she defined it was a resource we could tap into, that lied within a deeply female and spiritual plane, rooted in the power of an unexpressed and unrecognized feeling. It is – and I say this in the present tense – a deep, inner knowing, and an awareness of being in opposition to a very mainstream and patriarchal way of doing things. I decided to use the image of Red Shift, a video installation I filmed of two women playfighting in front of a camera, underneath a red-tinted light to evoke Lorde’s reference to the power of the erotic, as the front cover of the book. The word erotic itself is derived from the Greek word “eros”, meaning love in all its aspects, whether sexual or non-sexual, intimacy or simply making friendships and connections with other people. These women of different races and skin complexions have been red washed, where I’m playing devil’s advocate in asking what if skin colour were irrelevant, how then would we engage with ideas of gender between them? Who would we read as being masculine or feminine when the illusion and trappings of colour are rendered in(visible)?  Lorde’s legacies are as relevant today as they were in the 80s, calling on us to draw from the erotic in all aspects of our work, life and ultimately, being. This is the power of women coming together across the colour line, especially at a time where the definitions of what it means to be a woman, are being challenged across multiple spectrums, but perhaps only through looking in one dimension.  Instead of seeing ourselves divided from others, to the point of being conquered and controlled by those in power, we must, as she says, “define and empower”, only then can we see that there are much more commonalities between us, as those in power would have us believe; for now is the time to learn about how to broach that dividing line – of looking and feeling beyond our selves.  Beyond The Feminine: The Politics Of Skin Colour And Gender In Visual Culture by Ope Lori is out on the 24  July and published by Bloomsbury.  *Use the following discount codes to save 20% on bloomsbury.com/9781350204843. UK, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, South and Central America: GLR BD8 DIVA magazine celebrates 31 years in print in 2025. If you like what we do, then get behind LGBTQIA+ media and keep us going for another generation. Your support is invaluable.  linkin.bio/ig-divamagazine  The post The power of the erotic and the importance of women coming together across the colour line appeared first on . Beyond The Feminine: The Politics Of Skin Colour And Gender In Visual Culture is out today  BY DR OPE LORI, IMAGE BY AJAMU X “The erotic is not only sexual, it’s political, it’s philosophical, it’s ephemeral. It’s all these other things as well and that’s the frustration, because we only link it to the sexual body.”  – Ajamu X  These were the words taken from an intimate conversation with Black British queer male photographer Ajamu X, on the politics of the darkroom, the locus of pleasure and the erotic, as we sat in the artist’s home studio. We broached many hot topics that afternoon, not forgetting our unravelling of the term Queer, and whether as a way of being or a mode of doing – “queering” – if the very notion still operated within a binary framework? Queer, as Ajamu X would go on to say, “is like tissue paper and you can get it anywhere.” Of course, there was more context to this throwaway statement, which was ultimately about questioning how we see and do things differently.  The use of the word beyond in the title of the book and the aesthetics of its look, was not to hail some new sci-fi trilogy, although you would be forgiven in thinking so. This is a work that quite simply calls on us to raise our consciousness, especially as we navigate the choppy terrains of current social tensions, gender wars, race wars, executive orders and public disorders. The power of the erotic was coined by Audre Lorde, the self-described “Black, lesbian, mother, warrior and poet”, who was a pivotal figure in the 1980s, with a key body of feminist works. The erotic as she defined it was a resource we could tap into, that lied within a deeply female and spiritual plane, rooted in the power of an unexpressed and unrecognized feeling. It is – and I say this in the present tense – a deep, inner knowing, and an awareness of being in opposition to a very mainstream and patriarchal way of doing things. I decided to use the image of Red Shift, a video installation I filmed of two women playfighting in front of a camera, underneath a red-tinted light to evoke Lorde’s reference to the power of the erotic, as the front cover of the book. The word erotic itself is derived from the Greek word “eros”, meaning love in all its aspects, whether sexual or non-sexual, intimacy or simply making friendships and connections with other people. These women of different races and skin complexions have been red washed, where I’m playing devil’s advocate in asking what if skin colour were irrelevant, how then would we engage with ideas of gender between them? Who would we read as being masculine or feminine when the illusion and trappings of colour are rendered in(visible)?  Lorde’s legacies are as relevant today as they were in the 80s, calling on us to draw from the erotic in all aspects of our work, life and ultimately, being. This is the power of women coming together across the colour line, especially at a time where the definitions of what it means to be a woman, are being challenged across multiple spectrums, but perhaps only through looking in one dimension.  Instead of seeing ourselves divided from others, to the point of being conquered and controlled by those in power, we must, as she says, “define and empower”, only then can we see that there are much more commonalities between us, as those in power would have us believe; for now is the time to learn about how to broach that dividing line – of looking and feeling beyond our selves. Beyond The Feminine: The Politics Of Skin Colour And Gender In Visual Culture by Ope Lori is out on the 24  July and published by Bloomsbury.  *Use the following discount codes to save 20% on bloomsbury.com/9781350204843. UK, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, South and Central America: GLR BD8 DIVA magazine celebrates 31 years in print in 2025. If you like what we do, then get behind LGBTQIA+ media and keep us going for another generation. Your support is invaluable.  linkin.bio/ig-divamagazine The post The power of the erotic and the importance of women coming together across the colour line appeared first on .

 Necessary Fiction by Eloghosa Osunde
English | 2025 | General Fiction From the acclaimed author of Vagabonds!: an audacious and eye-opening exploration of cross-generational queer life in Nigeria. What makes a family? How is it defined and by whom? Is freedom for everyone?
In Necessary Fiction, Eloghosa Osunde poses these provocative questions and many more while exploring the paths and dreams, hopes and fears of more than two dozen characters who are staking out lives for themselves in contemporary Nigeria.
Across Lagos, one of Africa’s largest urban areas and one of the world’s most dynamic cities, Osunde’s characters seek out love for self and their chosen partners, even as they risk ruining relationships with parents, spouses, family, and friends. As the novel unfolds, a rolling cast emerges: vibrantly active, stubbornly alive, brazenly flawed. These characters grapple with desire, fear, time, death, and God, forming and breaking unexpected connections; in the process unveiling how they know each other, have loved each other, and had their hearts broken in that pursuit. As they work to establish themselves in the city’s lively worlds of art, music, entertainment, and creative commerce, we meet their collective and individual attempts to reckon with the necessary fiction they carry for survival. Get From DevUploads  From WorkUpload

Jude Dibia’s Walking With Shadows has a gay character at its heart – a radical act that continues to influence the region’s literary scene When Jude Dibia first tried to sell the manuscript of his groundbreaking novel Walking With Shadows 20 years ago, he was aware of the silence around queerness in West African literature. While there had been books with gay themes, his is widely recognised as the first novel in the region to put a gay character at the heart of the story. “The absence wasn’t just literary; it was societal,” Dibia says. “Queer people were living, loving, suffering, surviving – but largely rendered invisible or spoken of in hushed tones, if at all. That silence felt violent. It felt like erasure. Continue reading... Jude Dibia’s Walking With Shadows has a gay character at its heart – a radical act that continues to influence the region’s literary scene When Jude Dibia first tried to sell the manuscript of his groundbreaking novel Walking With Shadows 20 years ago, he was aware of the silence around queerness in West African literature. While there had been books with gay themes, his is widely recognised as the first novel in the region to put a gay character at the heart of the story. “The absence wasn’t just literary; it was societal,” Dibia says. “Queer people were living, loving, suffering, surviving – but largely rendered invisible or spoken of in hushed tones, if at all. That silence felt violent. It felt like erasure. Continue reading...

Growing up in a community where no one championed girls’ education, it is a miracle Mirriam Chilemba has risen from such a society to become Young Women Rise chief executive officer. The young Mirriam faced overwhelming societal pressure. Her peers were being married-off while young, forcing her to conform.  At just 17 years old, she entered into an early marriage, a move that negatively impacted her education. Mirriam dropped out of school while in Form One. But lady luck smiled on her and she found herself on the path to success, thanks to interventions that helped her return to school. “I continued my education at Providence Secondary School and later proceeded to Mzuzu University where I earned a bachelor of arts in education, majoring in French and English,” she says with pride. Her dream was to become a nurse or a famer, but opportunities opened doors to teaching. Mirriam wanted to be a farmer to follow in the footsteps of her father who once worked as farm manager at National Seed Company. “After years of teaching, l thought about taking a different career path, so l resigned to establish Young Women Rise,” she says. She adds that her own struggles as a youth prompted her to establish the organisation to become the voice for girls. Says Mirriam: “Girls’ education was never regarded as important compared to boys’ education. So the values that time portrayed girls as wired to be depend on a man. “But now growing up, I realise that a woman has to be independent and girls should be encouraged from a tender age,” says Mirriam. She says she wants to instill confidence in the girls and help them know their worth. “During my early marriage, I suffered physical violence. When I returned to school, I was mocked by those who knew my story. I was called names and ridiculed,” she adds. She attributes her success to God’s grace as the journey was not easy. The transition from secondary to tertiary education was tough, with immense forces trying to pull her down. Every step came with its own setbacks. Mirriam says: “The only way I can give back to the community is by championing girls’ education, to be a source of hope and a tool to ensure women and girls, especially adolescent girls and young women, are in safe hands. “At the very least, they should know their rights and where to seek help in different circumstances.” Mirriam admires former principal secretary for nutrition, HIV and Aids in the Ministry of Health Dr. Mary Shaba and her achievements that are backed by academic success. “I had the privilege of meeting Shawa at the Global Fund Proposal Writing Team Meeting when l was selected to be one of the proposal writers. I was delighted and I even told her that I worked hard to be like her someday,” says Mirriam. The young women’s advocate says her organisation’s mission is to alleviate human suffering, especially women and girls by promoting social, economic and educational empowerment. “The whole essence is see to young women become independent financially and advancing with their education,” she says. Mirriam adds that her organisation also focuses on menstrual health and sexual reproductive health rights (SRH)  bringing her closer to her dream of becoming a nurse. Despite financial challenges from the onset, Young Women Rise is on the rise. The bold step Mirriam took in quitting her job and investing in uplifting the lives of girls and young women is bearing fruit. She says with support from a Japanese funder who provided a K400 000 grant, the organisation took off. “It was a great privilege to receive such a grant. After l reported to him how l used the money, the financier gave me another K2.1 million grant. He also introduced me to like-minded people that support my cause,” says Mirriam. This opened doors for more opportunities as World Connect and Her Voice Fund moved in to help the organisation with projects that amplify its agenda. One of the projects is running up to 2026. “We’ve just secured partnership with Single Family Foundation which will run up to 2033. We are grateful to see our organisation get all these opportunities after starting on a low note,” she adds. Mirriam says Young Women Rise has empowered 165 women with various skills via a number of approaches. Some of the women have been organised into village savings and loans groups, others have been trained in fashion and designing, while others have been given loans to venture into businesses. “Women’s lives their lives have been uplifted. I am happy to see an empowered woman. Some have even constructed houses through their small business,” says Mirriam. One of the projects is being implemented in Neno District with funding from Amplify Change. It provides SRH services to 26 000 people. The project also uses a radio programme to disseminate SRH messages. Says Mirriam: “We also have a toll-free line for SRH messages, reporting gender-based violence, mental health issues or if people just want to talk to someone. “Initially we thought the project will only serve Neno, but we receive calls from all corners of Malawi. So it’s also a great milestone to help people beyond our borders,” she says. The 39-year-old feels proud to contribute to economic empowerment of Cyclone Freddy survivors in Chiradzulu District. “The time we started the project was when the disaster had just occurred and everyone was still traumatised. Most organisations just provided handouts such as food. There was no organisation that came with an initiative to restore people’s independence,” she says. Mirriam says Young Women Rise embarked on psychological counseling to relieve the people’s trauma and trained them in business management. She says leadership is not only about being in front of people telling them what to do, but also about listening, learning and patience. Mirriam says each day is an opportunity to learn through interactions with communities and colleagues. Her message to women is clear: “Always remember your worth. Keep your shoulders and chins up and face the world with confidence regardless of the challenges you encounter.” The post Mirriam: From early marriage victim to girl’s rights advocate appeared first on Nation Online.

A breakthrough HIV drug that only needs to be injected twice a year to offer near-total protection from the virus and developing AIDS should be made available "immediately" at pharmacies, clinics and via online consultations, the UN health agency said on Monday. Injectable lenacapavir - LEN, for short - is a highly effective, long-acting antiretroviral alternative to daily oral pills and other shorter-acting options, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). "While an HIV vaccine remains elusive, lenacapavir is the next best thing: a long-acting antiretroviral shown in trials to prevent almost all HIV infections among those at risk," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. Test kit advantage WHO's support for the injectable drug is significant because HIV prevention efforts are stagnating around the world. To make it easier for people to receive the injection close to home, the UN agency also recommends the use of rapid testing kits for the disease, as opposed to "complex, costly procedures". According to the agency, 1.3 million people contracted HIV in 2024; people most impacted were sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender people, people who inject drugs, people in prisons, and children and teens. "WHO is committed to working with countries and partners to ensure this innovation reaches communities as quickly and safely as possible," insisted Tedros, in comments during the 13th International AIDS Society Conference (IAS 2025) on HIV Science, in Kigali, Rwanda. The recommendation for LEN is also in line with the US health authorities which approved it in June. Call for implementation Although access to the LEN injection remains limited outside clinical trials today, WHO urged governments, donors and partners to incorporate LEN "immediately" within national combination HIV-prevention programmes. Other WHO-supported HIV-prevention options include daily oral tablets, injectable cabotegravir - which is injected once every two months - and the dapivirine vaginal ring, as part of a growing number of tools to end the HIV epidemic. Funding dilemma Amid massive funding cuts to the global effort to end HIV-AIDS - including the leading US Government programme launched in 2003, PEPFAR, focusing on combating the disease in Africa - WHO also issued new operational guidance on how to sustain priority HIV services. "We have the tools and the knowledge to end AIDS...what we need now is bold implementation of these recommendations, grounded in equity and powered by communities," said Dr Meg Doherty, Director of WHO's Department of Global HIV, Hepatitis and STI Programmes and incoming Director of Science, Research, Evidence and Quality for Health. HIV remains a major global public health issue. By the end of 2024, an estimated 40.8 million people were living with HIV with an estimated 65 per cent in Africa. Approximately 630,000 people died from HIV-related causes globally, and an estimated 1.3 million people acquired HIV, including 120,000 children. More positively, access to HIV drugs continues to expand, with 31.6 million people receiving treatment in 2024, up from 30.3 million a year earlier. Without anti-retroviral medication, the HIV virus attacks the body's immune system, leading ultimately to the onset of AIDS.

 Adolescents’ and Young People’s Barriers to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Mozambique Young people in Mozambique face a range of challenges in accessing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. These barriers can be particularly pronounced for marginalized and vulnerable youth, including young unmarried women, lesbian and bisexual women, and internally displaced persons (IDPs), and are often shaped by stigma and misinformation.  As part of the broader Stand Up for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights project, the Guttmacher Institute and Mozambican partner Centro de Pesquisa em População e Saúde (CEPSA, or the Center for Population and Health Research) embarked on a collaborative research effort to better understand these challenges from the perspectives of young people themselves. They conducted a study in 2023 that explored how social norms influence access to information and services for adolescent and young women and men in northern Mozambique. Researchers recruited young people aged 15–24 from three districts—Nampula City, Nacala Porto and Mecubúri—and included both IDPs and non-IDPs, and those either in or out of school, for focus group discussions. Focus group participants were asked about their peers, an effective method for capturing social norms within similar demographic groups. The study team interviewed lesbian and bisexual young women individually. This fact sheet summarizes key findings from the study report and offers recommendations for advocates and health care providers. Context Mozambique has low modern contraceptive prevalence among 15–19-year-old women, high unmet need for a method of family planning, a high adolescent birth rate and a high all-women maternal mortality ratio. Despite the law allowing abortion on request during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and later in all other cases, pregnant adolescents are at risk of unsafe abortion because of stigma, misinformation and other barriers to accessing safe abortion services. The country has one of the world’s highest rates of child marriage: 14% of girls enter into a union before age 15 and 46% before 18. Early marriage linked to intimate partner violence and limited knowledge of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) threaten adolescents’ rights and their ability to access SRH services. Adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health and rights are also threatened by discrimination and other forms of violence. Although Mozambique removed language criminalizing homosexuality from its penal code in 2014, the country lacks specific protections and effective accountability mechanisms for discrimination against LGBTQI+ populations. Since 2017, northern Mozambique, particularly the province of Cabo Delgado, has been the site of internal armed conflict between government forces and insurgents that has resulted in more than 800,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs).  The research team selected three districts in Nampula Province, which borders Cabo Delgado, as the study setting because of their high-risk demographic profiles. Contraceptive use  Participants reported that young people have many misconceptions and negative perceptions about using condoms and other forms of contraception. Those include beliefs that:  • Contraceptive use encourages promiscuity and could cause infertility. They will say that one is planning to be a prostitute, doesn’t want to have children now, is using contraception to be able to continue having sex when she wants to. (young man, focus group with non-IDPs aged 18–21, Mecubúri) • Condoms can get stuck inside women’s bodies and cause infections or illness. [A friend can tell you:] You must never use condoms. If you do, you’ll infect yourself with HIV. Sometimes they say that condoms come with disease, come already with a disease, that’s the advice of…that’s what my friends tell me. (young man, focus group with IDPs aged 18–21, Nampula City) • Adolescents and young women are mainly concerned with preventing pregnancy and, if already using another contraceptive method, do not consider using condoms to protect against STIs. Recommendations • Targeted campaigns via social media and community outreach and peer-to-peer education, designed to address misinformation and the benefits of condoms and other contraceptives, are paramount in helping young people avoid unwanted pregnancy and STIs. • Young people can be trained as peer educators who can speak to those in their age-group about the facts and advantages of using condoms and other contraceptives. • Health care providers can benefit from more comprehensive and regular training on how to discuss contraception with young people. STIs Stigma and shame significantly hinder young people from seeking and receiving treatment for STIs, especially for HIV and AIDS. Besides discomfort with examinations and fear of being recognized at health care facilities, participants described barriers to getting care that include: • Denying an STI diagnosis or thinking health professionals are being untruthful about a diagnosis, particularly regarding HIV, which continues to be highly stigmatized • Refusing treatment, including HIV medication I’d like to give an example of a friend of mine. He also had gonorrhea and he didn’t tell anyone, nor did he go to the hospital. But only after two weeks with gonorrhea did people close to him discover it.…He wasn’t even able to walk, and it was then that people discovered that he had gonorrhea and then they took him for treatment.…But that may be really shame [that prevented him from getting treatment sooner] as my friend was saying. (young man, focus group with IDPs aged 18–21, Nampula City) • Health care providers who demand that patients bring sexual partners for testing and treatment Shame and stigma also make many young people reluctant to discuss their STI status, particularly HIV, with partners. Focus group participants reported that young people do not always ask their partners about their STI status, because they fear rejection by the partner; when asked, not everyone is truthful about their STI status, and they rarely reveal if they do have one. Recommendations • To encourage young people to seek treatment, health care providers should enhance the confidentiality of STI testing and services at facilities. • Sensitization efforts aimed at reducing the stigma associated with STIs, including HIV and AIDS, could include radio and visual media campaigns, community-based peer education and the integration of STI-awareness and destigmatization messages into existing health programs. • Mobile health services and telehealth platforms, such as a free hotline or an app delivering targeted messages about STI prevention, testing locations, appointment reminders and information on confidential counseling services, may increase young people’s willingness to obtain STI care. Barriers to accessing SRH care The majority of lesbian and bisexual young women interviewed believe that health care facilities are not prepared to address the sexual and reproductive health and rights of people with diverse sexual orientations. They reported experiencing significant discrimination and hostility in health care settings, which contributes to a lack of adequate health care provision for LGBTQI+ individuals. This discrimination manifests through: • Health care workers sometimes pressuring their colleagues to treat lesbian patients poorly • Refusal of treatment • Ignoring patients or delaying care • Making derogatory comments and jokes  There are people who do go [to a health facility], and even if they meet a nurse who they think would treat them well...that nurse is influenced by others [to not treat all patients well] who say, “Haa...you can’t treat her, she’s a lesbian, she’s worthless.” (lesbian, aged 22, Nampula City) Focus group participants reported that adolescent and young women faced significant barriers and discrimination in accessing prenatal care if they are unaccompanied by a partner. These individuals experienced poor treatment from health care providers, including: • Charges for childbirth services that should be free • Long delays to receive care • Visible disdain from providers, even when seriously ill  There are some who don’t go to the hospital because they [the hospital staff] usually want a couple, a woman and a man, to sign up for prenatal care,…but if you’re pregnant and no longer seeing the man who got you pregnant, or he doesn’t take responsibility for the pregnancy.…There’s no way to go to the hospital alone, because they will refuse to give you care,…they turn you away and they tell you, “Bring the man who got you pregnant.”…You go and bring your brother [pretending to be your husband] to the hospital.…There are some [who] sit at home until the child grows up because they have no medical card. (young woman, focus group with non-IDPs aged 20–24, out of school, Nacala Porto) Recommendations • Advocates should encourage the implementation of nondiscriminatory health care policies, including addressing women’s right to seek care alone. • Increased advocacy for and sensitization to the SRH needs of LGBTQI+ individuals can combat discrimination against those with diverse sexual orientations. • Youth-friendly corners or clinics within existing health care facilities where adolescents and young women can receive care in a supportive and understanding environment could improve the quality of care provided to this vulnerable population. Abortion Adolescent and young women seek induced abortion because of partner abandonment, shame, educational aspirations or uncertainty about paternity. Their abortion decisions can sometimes be influenced by the fear of having to disclose the pregnancy to parents. In cases where the partner has not abandoned the young woman, the decision to abort is highly influenced by the man.  It’s not possible for a woman to abort without her partner’s consent. First, she talks with her boyfriend who got her pregnant, and often the person who decides whether you can abort or not is the man. (adolescent woman, focus group with non-IDPs aged 15–19 years, out of school, Nacala Porto) Despite respondents mentioning that health facilities provide abortion services for free, they reported that only some adolescents and young women they knew obtained abortion services from health facilities. Very few respondents knew about medication abortion. Instead, they indicated that young women primarily use traditional methods to induce abortion with combinations of: • Coca-Cola • Powdered detergent • Strike-anywhere phosphorous matchsticks • Plant roots and leaves, including aloe vera and moringa Recommendations • Establishing confidential, youth-friendly pregnancy counseling services can offer young people a nonjudgmental place to learn about their options for managing an unintended pregnancy, including how to discuss it with their parents. • Counseling about the dangers of unsafe abortion methods and enhancing outreach and dissemination of information about safe and free abortion options at health facilities may increase abortion safety for young people. dtarnowski June 25, 2025 Exclude from search No Facebook Image mozambique social preview 2025.png Twitter Image mozambique social preview 2025.png Adolescents’ and Young People’s Barriers to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Mozambique Young people in Mozambique face a range of challenges in accessing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. These barriers can be particularly pronounced for marginalized and vulnerable youth, including young unmarried women, lesbian and bisexual women, and internally displaced persons (IDPs), and are often shaped by stigma and misinformation.  As part of the broader Stand Up for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights project, the Guttmacher Institute and Mozambican partner Centro de Pesquisa em População e Saúde (CEPSA, or the Center for Population and Health Research) embarked on a collaborative research effort to better understand these challenges from the perspectives of young people themselves. They conducted a study in 2023 that explored how social norms influence access to information and services for adolescent and young women and men in northern Mozambique. Researchers recruited young people aged 15–24 from three districts—Nampula City, Nacala Porto and Mecubúri—and included both IDPs and non-IDPs, and those either in or out of school, for focus group discussions. Focus group participants were asked about their peers, an effective method for capturing social norms within similar demographic groups. The study team interviewed lesbian and bisexual young women individually. This fact sheet summarizes key findings from the study report and offers recommendations for advocates and health care providers. Context Mozambique has low modern contraceptive prevalence among 15–19-year-old women, high unmet need for a method of family planning, a high adolescent birth rate and a high all-women maternal mortality ratio. Despite the law allowing abortion on request during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and later in all other cases, pregnant adolescents are at risk of unsafe abortion because of stigma, misinformation and other barriers to accessing safe abortion services. The country has one of the world’s highest rates of child marriage: 14% of girls enter into a union before age 15 and 46% before 18. Early marriage linked to intimate partner violence and limited knowledge of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) threaten adolescents’ rights and their ability to access SRH services. Adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health and rights are also threatened by discrimination and other forms of violence. Although Mozambique removed language criminalizing homosexuality from its penal code in 2014, the country lacks specific protections and effective accountability mechanisms for discrimination against LGBTQI+ populations. Since 2017, northern Mozambique, particularly the province of Cabo Delgado, has been the site of internal armed conflict between government forces and insurgents that has resulted in more than 800,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs).  The research team selected three districts in Nampula Province, which borders Cabo Delgado, as the study setting because of their high-risk demographic profiles. Contraceptive use  Participants reported that young people have many misconceptions and negative perceptions about using condoms and other forms of contraception. Those include beliefs that:  • Contraceptive use encourages promiscuity and could cause infertility. They will say that one is planning to be a prostitute, doesn’t want to have children now, is using contraception to be able to continue having sex when she wants to. (young man, focus group with non-IDPs aged 18–21, Mecubúri) • Condoms can get stuck inside women’s bodies and cause infections or illness. [A friend can tell you:] You must never use condoms. If you do, you’ll infect yourself with HIV. Sometimes they say that condoms come with disease, come already with a disease, that’s the advice of…that’s what my friends tell me. (young man, focus group with IDPs aged 18–21, Nampula City) • Adolescents and young women are mainly concerned with preventing pregnancy and, if already using another contraceptive method, do not consider using condoms to protect against STIs. Recommendations • Targeted campaigns via social media and community outreach and peer-to-peer education, designed to address misinformation and the benefits of condoms and other contraceptives, are paramount in helping young people avoid unwanted pregnancy and STIs. • Young people can be trained as peer educators who can speak to those in their age-group about the facts and advantages of using condoms and other contraceptives. • Health care providers can benefit from more comprehensive and regular training on how to discuss contraception with young people. STIs Stigma and shame significantly hinder young people from seeking and receiving treatment for STIs, especially for HIV and AIDS. Besides discomfort with examinations and fear of being recognized at health care facilities, participants described barriers to getting care that include: • Denying an STI diagnosis or thinking health professionals are being untruthful about a diagnosis, particularly regarding HIV, which continues to be highly stigmatized • Refusing treatment, including HIV medication I’d like to give an example of a friend of mine. He also had gonorrhea and he didn’t tell anyone, nor did he go to the hospital. But only after two weeks with gonorrhea did people close to him discover it.…He wasn’t even able to walk, and it was then that people discovered that he had gonorrhea and then they took him for treatment.…But that may be really shame [that prevented him from getting treatment sooner] as my friend was saying. (young man, focus group with IDPs aged 18–21, Nampula City) • Health care providers who demand that patients bring sexual partners for testing and treatment Shame and stigma also make many young people reluctant to discuss their STI status, particularly HIV, with partners. Focus group participants reported that young people do not always ask their partners about their STI status, because they fear rejection by the partner; when asked, not everyone is truthful about their STI status, and they rarely reveal if they do have one. Recommendations • To encourage young people to seek treatment, health care providers should enhance the confidentiality of STI testing and services at facilities. • Sensitization efforts aimed at reducing the stigma associated with STIs, including HIV and AIDS, could include radio and visual media campaigns, community-based peer education and the integration of STI-awareness and destigmatization messages into existing health programs. • Mobile health services and telehealth platforms, such as a free hotline or an app delivering targeted messages about STI prevention, testing locations, appointment reminders and information on confidential counseling services, may increase young people’s willingness to obtain STI care. Barriers to accessing SRH care The majority of lesbian and bisexual young women interviewed believe that health care facilities are not prepared to address the sexual and reproductive health and rights of people with diverse sexual orientations. They reported experiencing significant discrimination and hostility in health care settings, which contributes to a lack of adequate health care provision for LGBTQI+ individuals. This discrimination manifests through: • Health care workers sometimes pressuring their colleagues to treat lesbian patients poorly • Refusal of treatment • Ignoring patients or delaying care • Making derogatory comments and jokes  There are people who do go [to a health facility], and even if they meet a nurse who they think would treat them well...that nurse is influenced by others [to not treat all patients well] who say, “Haa...you can’t treat her, she’s a lesbian, she’s worthless.” (lesbian, aged 22, Nampula City) Focus group participants reported that adolescent and young women faced significant barriers and discrimination in accessing prenatal care if they are unaccompanied by a partner. These individuals experienced poor treatment from health care providers, including: • Charges for childbirth services that should be free • Long delays to receive care • Visible disdain from providers, even when seriously ill  There are some who don’t go to the hospital because they [the hospital staff] usually want a couple, a woman and a man, to sign up for prenatal care,…but if you’re pregnant and no longer seeing the man who got you pregnant, or he doesn’t take responsibility for the pregnancy.…There’s no way to go to the hospital alone, because they will refuse to give you care,…they turn you away and they tell you, “Bring the man who got you pregnant.”…You go and bring your brother [pretending to be your husband] to the hospital.…There are some [who] sit at home until the child grows up because they have no medical card. (young woman, focus group with non-IDPs aged 20–24, out of school, Nacala Porto) Recommendations • Advocates should encourage the implementation of nondiscriminatory health care policies, including addressing women’s right to seek care alone. • Increased advocacy for and sensitization to the SRH needs of LGBTQI+ individuals can combat discrimination against those with diverse sexual orientations. • Youth-friendly corners or clinics within existing health care facilities where adolescents and young women can receive care in a supportive and understanding environment could improve the quality of care provided to this vulnerable population. Abortion Adolescent and young women seek induced abortion because of partner abandonment, shame, educational aspirations or uncertainty about paternity. Their abortion decisions can sometimes be influenced by the fear of having to disclose the pregnancy to parents. In cases where the partner has not abandoned the young woman, the decision to abort is highly influenced by the man.  It’s not possible for a woman to abort without her partner’s consent. First, she talks with her boyfriend who got her pregnant, and often the person who decides whether you can abort or not is the man. (adolescent woman, focus group with non-IDPs aged 15–19 years, out of school, Nacala Porto) Despite respondents mentioning that health facilities provide abortion services for free, they reported that only some adolescents and young women they knew obtained abortion services from health facilities. Very few respondents knew about medication abortion. Instead, they indicated that young women primarily use traditional methods to induce abortion with combinations of: • Coca-Cola • Powdered detergent • Strike-anywhere phosphorous matchsticks • Plant roots and leaves, including aloe vera and moringa Recommendations • Establishing confidential, youth-friendly pregnancy counseling services can offer young people a nonjudgmental place to learn about their options for managing an unintended pregnancy, including how to discuss it with their parents. • Counseling about the dangers of unsafe abortion methods and enhancing outreach and dissemination of information about safe and free abortion options at health facilities may increase abortion safety for young people. dtarnowski June 25, 2025 Exclude from search No Facebook Image mozambique social preview 2025.png Twitter Image mozambique social preview 2025.png

 The UK is facing a surge in efforts to promote so-called LGBTIQ+ "conversion therapy", with Amnesty International warning of a growing anti-rights movement. The UK is facing a surge in efforts to promote so-called LGBTIQ+ "conversion therapy", with Amnesty International warning of a growing anti-rights movement.

 Maria David KLEOPAS Petrus, a prominent motivational speaker and the visionary founder of the Home-Full Organisation of Visually Impaired, is preparing to undertake a monumental 77-kilometre walk from Okahandja to the Office of the Prime Minister in Windhoek. The campaign is scheduled for 5 September 2025. According to Petrus, the walk, under the campaign named “Feel My Pain: 77km Walk to Stop GBV,” aims to significantly raise public awareness about gender-based violence (GBV), shed light on the profound struggles faced by persons with disabilities, and ultimately advocate for more compassionate and effective action from national leaders. Petrus, who originates from Onakanlusi village in the Omuthiya constituency, tragically lost his sight at a young age. Despite this personal challenge, he has emerged as a tireless advocate for the inclusion and empowerment of persons with disabilities across Namibia. Since establishing the Home-Full Organisation of Visually Impaired in 2019, he has steadfastly championed critical issues such as education, personal development, and broader social concerns, including GBV, drug abuse, and the comprehensive rights of individuals with disabilities. “This is my personal mission to raise public awareness and promote social change,” he said. He added that his dedicated goal is to educate Namibians about the complex challenges confronted by the disabled community and the pervasive, devastating impact of gender-based violence. Beyond its primary objectives, Petrus said the extensive campaign also seeks to engage directly with the Prime Minister’s Office, conveying a powerful message of hope and fostering an inclusive society for all citizens. Further, he said that the campaign aims to strongly advocate for the creation of sustainable job opportunities specifically for the disabled community and to relentlessly push for the robust implementation of comprehensive disability policies. “A vital component of the initiative involves raising essential funds to provide white canes for visually impaired individuals, thereby enabling them to navigate their daily lives with greater independence and to support ongoing outreach work that benefits the wider disabled community,” he said. He firmly believes that by creating a public wager around his ability to successfully complete the 77km walk in a single day, this extraordinary journey could be transformed into a poignant moment of national unity and shared purpose. “The 77km walk is more than just a physical journey – it is a powerful symbol of courage, a visible demonstration of resilience, and a resounding cry for transformative change,” he said. Petrus stressed that with every Namibian’s support, he believes the country can truly walk this journey with him, hand in hand, towards a more inclusive and just future. Photo: MyStory Podcast YouTube The post Visually impaired advocate to embark on 77km walk to combat GBV appeared first on Informanté.

 The Minority Caucus on the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament has taken note of Ghana’s decision to abstain from a vote involving the LGBTQ community at the 59th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC59) held at the United Nations (UN) Office in Geneva, Switzerland, and the Press Statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the matter.  The Caucus notes with regret the government’s double standards on the issue of LGBTQ and the Ministry’s attempt to rationalise such double standards. The Caucus, therefore, deems it necessary to correct the misinformation put out by the Ministry for the education and information of the general public. Mandate The mandate of the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (IE SOGI) was created by the UN Human Rights Council by Resolution 32/2 adopted on 30th June, 2016. Among his functions, the Independent Expert is to raise awareness of violence and discrimination against persons on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity; foster the implementation of measures that contribute to the protection of all persons against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity; and address aggravated forms of violence and discrimination faced by persons on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity. The performance of this mandate, obviously, requires the recognition that people have the right to any sexual orientation of their choice, and the right to determine their sexual identity. Report Indeed, in his 12th July 2018 report submitted to the 73rd UN General Assembly, the Independent Expert states that the notion that human beings are born male or female is “a preconception that must be challenged if all humankind is to enjoy human rights”. He, therefore, recommended that States take measures to enact “laws and regulations [that] provide marriage equality to trans people on an equal basis with other persons” and “enact gender recognition systems concerning the rights of trans persons to change their name and gender markers on identification document”. It is for this reason that, in 2016, several countries, and particularly almost all the African countries on the Human Rights Council at the time, including Algeria, Nigeria, Togo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Morocco, Burundi, Congo, and Kenya, voted against the resolution creating the mandate of the IE SOGI. Regrettably, Ghana, at the time, under the leadership of President John Dramani Mahama, joined few other countries to abstain from the vote. Under Resolution 32/2, the mandate of the IE SOGI was to be for a period of three years. At the end of this initial mandate however, it was extended in June 2019 by Resolution 41/18 for another three years, and subsequently, in July 2022 by Resolution 50/10 for another three years which expired in July 2025. It is important to state that Ghana was not a member of the Council between 2019 and 2022 and, thus, did not vote on the resolutions extending the mandate. Ghana returns Ghana returned to the Human Rights Council in January 2024, and had the opportunity at this 59th Session of the Council to make a statement in respect of her position on LGBTQ issues, through the vote on the resolution to extend the mandate of the IE SOGI, but again, chose to abstain. The statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the question before the Council was whether persons who identify as LGBTQ should be protected against violence and discrimination or not is totally false. The question before the Council was whether to extend the mandate of the IE SOGI, which had ended, for him to continue performing the functions above, which invariably includes the promotion of LGBTQ rights (see par. 2 of Draft Resolution). It cannot be the case that the several countries who have consistently voted against the mandate do so out of support for violence or discrimination against the LGBTQ community; rather, their opposition is directed at the recognition and promotion of LGBTQ identities themselves. Constitution It cannot, also, be correct that Ghana abstained from the vote because of Chapter Five of the Constitution. Nothing in Article 17 of the Constitution cited by the Ministry supports individual choice of sexual orientation or gender identity. Indeed, article 12 of the Constitution is clear that the fundamental human rights enshrined in the Constitution are “subject to … the public interest.” It is important to state that what the international community calls discrimination against the LGBTQ community includes laws that criminalise LGBTQ activities, such as the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, which the current government, then in opposition, championed and promised to sign into law when elected into office. It is the laws like these that the IE SOGI is established to help prevent. In his 17th April, 2025 Report presented to the Human Rights Council, for instance, IE SOGI that urges that “States should end the practices of de jure and de facto criminalisation” of LGBTQ. Failure Ghana’s decision to abstain from this vote is, thus, a sign of government’s indifference to proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values which they promised to uphold. The Government’s failure to lay the Anti-Gay Bill in Parliament for it to be passed into law, and its consistent abstinence from votes relating to LGBTQ issues is a clear manifestation of its double standards on LGBTQ issues and the promotion of Ghanaian family values. Our criminal laws already criminalise certain practices relating to LGBTQ activities which are at variance with Ghanaian values and practices. It is, therefore, disappointing that on two separate occasions, this very Government has failed to join other like-minded countries to project these Ghanaian values and norms at the international level. While we do not support any form of violence against any person, including persons who identify as LGBTQ, we remain committed to upholding the integrity of our nation and defending her norms, values and practices, both home and abroad, and urge the general public to join us on this noble cause for people and country. The writer is a Member of Parliament for Damongo Constituency & Ranking Member, Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament. The post Minority responds to Ghana’s vote abstenance at 59th Human Rights Council appeared first on The Ghana Report. The Minority Caucus on the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament has taken note of Ghana’s decision to abstain from a vote involving the LGBTQ community at the 59th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC59) held at the United Nations (UN) Office in Geneva, Switzerland, and the Press Statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the matter.  The Caucus notes with regret the government’s double standards on the issue of LGBTQ and the Ministry’s attempt to rationalise such double standards. The Caucus, therefore, deems it necessary to correct the misinformation put out by the Ministry for the education and information of the general public. Mandate The mandate of the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (IE SOGI) was created by the UN Human Rights Council by Resolution 32/2 adopted on 30th June, 2016. Among his functions, the Independent Expert is to raise awareness of violence and discrimination against persons on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity; foster the implementation of measures that contribute to the protection of all persons against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity; and address aggravated forms of violence and discrimination faced by persons on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity. The performance of this mandate, obviously, requires the recognition that people have the right to any sexual orientation of their choice, and the right to determine their sexual identity. Report Indeed, in his 12th July 2018 report submitted to the 73rd UN General Assembly, the Independent Expert states that the notion that human beings are born male or female is “a preconception that must be challenged if all humankind is to enjoy human rights”. He, therefore, recommended that States take measures to enact “laws and regulations [that] provide marriage equality to trans people on an equal basis with other persons” and “enact gender recognition systems concerning the rights of trans persons to change their name and gender markers on identification document”. It is for this reason that, in 2016, several countries, and particularly almost all the African countries on the Human Rights Council at the time, including Algeria, Nigeria, Togo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Morocco, Burundi, Congo, and Kenya, voted against the resolution creating the mandate of the IE SOGI. Regrettably, Ghana, at the time, under the leadership of President John Dramani Mahama, joined few other countries to abstain from the vote. Under Resolution 32/2, the mandate of the IE SOGI was to be for a period of three years. At the end of this initial mandate however, it was extended in June 2019 by Resolution 41/18 for another three years, and subsequently, in July 2022 by Resolution 50/10 for another three years which expired in July 2025. It is important to state that Ghana was not a member of the Council between 2019 and 2022 and, thus, did not vote on the resolutions extending the mandate. Ghana returns Ghana returned to the Human Rights Council in January 2024, and had the opportunity at this 59th Session of the Council to make a statement in respect of her position on LGBTQ issues, through the vote on the resolution to extend the mandate of the IE SOGI, but again, chose to abstain. The statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the question before the Council was whether persons who identify as LGBTQ should be protected against violence and discrimination or not is totally false. The question before the Council was whether to extend the mandate of the IE SOGI, which had ended, for him to continue performing the functions above, which invariably includes the promotion of LGBTQ rights (see par. 2 of Draft Resolution). It cannot be the case that the several countries who have consistently voted against the mandate do so out of support for violence or discrimination against the LGBTQ community; rather, their opposition is directed at the recognition and promotion of LGBTQ identities themselves. Constitution It cannot, also, be correct that Ghana abstained from the vote because of Chapter Five of the Constitution. Nothing in Article 17 of the Constitution cited by the Ministry supports individual choice of sexual orientation or gender identity. Indeed, article 12 of the Constitution is clear that the fundamental human rights enshrined in the Constitution are “subject to … the public interest.” It is important to state that what the international community calls discrimination against the LGBTQ community includes laws that criminalise LGBTQ activities, such as the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, which the current government, then in opposition, championed and promised to sign into law when elected into office. It is the laws like these that the IE SOGI is established to help prevent. In his 17th April, 2025 Report presented to the Human Rights Council, for instance, IE SOGI that urges that “States should end the practices of de jure and de facto criminalisation” of LGBTQ. Failure Ghana’s decision to abstain from this vote is, thus, a sign of government’s indifference to proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values which they promised to uphold. The Government’s failure to lay the Anti-Gay Bill in Parliament for it to be passed into law, and its consistent abstinence from votes relating to LGBTQ issues is a clear manifestation of its double standards on LGBTQ issues and the promotion of Ghanaian family values. Our criminal laws already criminalise certain practices relating to LGBTQ activities which are at variance with Ghanaian values and practices. It is, therefore, disappointing that on two separate occasions, this very Government has failed to join other like-minded countries to project these Ghanaian values and norms at the international level. While we do not support any form of violence against any person, including persons who identify as LGBTQ, we remain committed to upholding the integrity of our nation and defending her norms, values and practices, both home and abroad, and urge the general public to join us on this noble cause for people and country. The writer is a Member of Parliament for Damongo Constituency & Ranking Member, Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament. The post Minority responds to Ghana’s vote abstenance at 59th Human Rights Council appeared first on The Ghana Report.

 UNAIDS Warns of Global HIV Funding Crisis, Urges Urgent Action and Unity The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has sounded the alarm over a deepening global funding crisis that threatens to derail decades of hard-won progress in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Releasing its 2025 Global AIDS Update report titled "AIDS, Crisis and the Power to Transform", UNAIDS highlighted both the severity of the situation and the resilience of nations and communities striving to keep the response alive. The report lays bare the far-reaching consequences of sudden international funding cuts, including halted treatment services, defunded prevention programmes, and widespread health system disruptions. It urges governments, global institutions, and donors to act urgently and decisively to avert a humanitarian catastrophe and reinvigorate the fight to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. A Crisis Unfolds: The Impact of Sudden Aid Cuts While the year 2024 brought measurable progress in HIV service delivery, a sharp and unexpected decline in international donor support in 2025 has disrupted the fragile infrastructure sustaining millions of lives. UNAIDS reports that health services have vanished overnight, with health workers laid off and vulnerable populations pushed out of care. In Mozambique, over 30,000 frontline health personnel have been impacted. In Nigeria, the number of people starting Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) has dropped from 40,000 to just 6,000 per month—a dramatic reversal that underscores the gravity of the crisis. "This is not just a funding gap—it's a ticking time bomb," said Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director. "People, especially children and key populations, are being pushed out of care. Services are collapsing." If essential U.S.-funded HIV services—chiefly through PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief)—collapse entirely, UNAIDS estimates a staggering toll between 2025 and 2029: • 6 million new HIV infections • 4 million additional AIDS-related deaths Alarming Data: Lives on the Line Even before the widespread disruptions of 2025, 9.2 million people were not accessing life-saving treatment in 2024. Among them, 620,000 children aged 0–14 were living with HIV but not receiving care, contributing to 75,000 AIDS-related child deaths that year alone. Other key statistics from 2024 include: • 630,000 AIDS-related deaths globally, with 61% in sub-Saharan Africa • 210,000 new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women (15–24), averaging 570 new infections per day • Over 60% of women-led HIV organisations lost funding or suspended services in early 2025 • Disruption of PEPFAR-supported prevention services that previously reached 2.3 million adolescent girls and young women, and enabled 2.5 million people to access PrEP Community-led and grassroots organisations—which are often best equipped to reach marginalised populations—are being disproportionately affected. Adding to the crisis is a rising wave of punitive laws criminalising same-sex relationships, gender identity, and drug use, further alienating those most in need of HIV services. A Glimmer of Hope: Domestic Commitments and Innovation Despite the bleak outlook, UNAIDS pointed to several positive developments. Encouragingly, 25 out of 60 low- and middle-income countries have reported plans to increase domestic funding for HIV responses in 2026, pledging a collective 8% rise—amounting to an additional US$180 million. While insufficient to replace the scale of lost international support, these moves reflect a growing sense of national responsibility. South Africa, for instance, now funds 77% of its AIDS response. Its 2025 budget includes a 5.9% annual increase in health expenditure over the next three years, with a 3.3% boost specifically for HIV and tuberculosis programmes. South Africa also plans to develop: • A national patient information system • A centralised chronic medicine dispensing and distribution system • A facility-based medicine stock surveillance system Furthermore, seven countries—Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, Rwanda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—have achieved the 95-95-95 targets: • 95% of people living with HIV know their status • 95% of those diagnosed are on treatment • 95% of those on treatment are virally suppressed This milestone demonstrates that ending AIDS is possible with political will, community engagement, and sustainable investment. Breakthrough Prevention Tools Offer New Hope On the innovation front, UNAIDS highlighted the advent of long-acting injectable PrEP as a promising game-changer. A new drug, lenacapavir, has shown near-complete efficacy in clinical trials, offering a new horizon in HIV prevention. However, affordability and accessibility remain major challenges, particularly in resource-limited settings. UNAIDS is advocating for equity in access, so that advances in medical science can benefit everyone—regardless of geography or income. A Global Call for Solidarity and Action The report concludes with an urgent appeal for global solidarity. It calls on international donors, multilateral institutions, and philanthropic partners to rally behind community efforts, bridge the funding gap, and safeguard the progress achieved so far. UNAIDS argues that every dollar invested in the HIV response: • Saves lives • Strengthens health systems • Drives progress toward sustainable development goals Since the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic: • 26.9 million deaths have been averted due to treatment • 4.4 million children have been protected from vertical transmission "In a time of crisis, the world must choose transformation over retreat," said Byanyima. "Together, we can still end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030—if we act with urgency, unity, and unwavering commitment." UNAIDS Warns of Global HIV Funding Crisis, Urges Urgent Action and Unity The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has sounded the alarm over a deepening global funding crisis that threatens to derail decades of hard-won progress in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Releasing its 2025 Global AIDS Update report titled "AIDS, Crisis and the Power to Transform", UNAIDS highlighted both the severity of the situation and the resilience of nations and communities striving to keep the response alive. The report lays bare the far-reaching consequences of sudden international funding cuts, including halted treatment services, defunded prevention programmes, and widespread health system disruptions. It urges governments, global institutions, and donors to act urgently and decisively to avert a humanitarian catastrophe and reinvigorate the fight to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. A Crisis Unfolds: The Impact of Sudden Aid Cuts While the year 2024 brought measurable progress in HIV service delivery, a sharp and unexpected decline in international donor support in 2025 has disrupted the fragile infrastructure sustaining millions of lives. UNAIDS reports that health services have vanished overnight, with health workers laid off and vulnerable populations pushed out of care. In Mozambique, over 30,000 frontline health personnel have been impacted. In Nigeria, the number of people starting Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) has dropped from 40,000 to just 6,000 per month—a dramatic reversal that underscores the gravity of the crisis. "This is not just a funding gap—it's a ticking time bomb," said Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director. "People, especially children and key populations, are being pushed out of care. Services are collapsing." If essential U.S.-funded HIV services—chiefly through PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief)—collapse entirely, UNAIDS estimates a staggering toll between 2025 and 2029: • 6 million new HIV infections • 4 million additional AIDS-related deaths Alarming Data: Lives on the Line Even before the widespread disruptions of 2025, 9.2 million people were not accessing life-saving treatment in 2024. Among them, 620,000 children aged 0–14 were living with HIV but not receiving care, contributing to 75,000 AIDS-related child deaths that year alone. Other key statistics from 2024 include: • 630,000 AIDS-related deaths globally, with 61% in sub-Saharan Africa • 210,000 new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women (15–24), averaging 570 new infections per day • Over 60% of women-led HIV organisations lost funding or suspended services in early 2025 • Disruption of PEPFAR-supported prevention services that previously reached 2.3 million adolescent girls and young women, and enabled 2.5 million people to access PrEP Community-led and grassroots organisations—which are often best equipped to reach marginalised populations—are being disproportionately affected. Adding to the crisis is a rising wave of punitive laws criminalising same-sex relationships, gender identity, and drug use, further alienating those most in need of HIV services. A Glimmer of Hope: Domestic Commitments and Innovation Despite the bleak outlook, UNAIDS pointed to several positive developments. Encouragingly, 25 out of 60 low- and middle-income countries have reported plans to increase domestic funding for HIV responses in 2026, pledging a collective 8% rise—amounting to an additional US$180 million. While insufficient to replace the scale of lost international support, these moves reflect a growing sense of national responsibility. South Africa, for instance, now funds 77% of its AIDS response. Its 2025 budget includes a 5.9% annual increase in health expenditure over the next three years, with a 3.3% boost specifically for HIV and tuberculosis programmes. South Africa also plans to develop: • A national patient information system • A centralised chronic medicine dispensing and distribution system • A facility-based medicine stock surveillance system Furthermore, seven countries—Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, Rwanda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—have achieved the 95-95-95 targets: • 95% of people living with HIV know their status • 95% of those diagnosed are on treatment • 95% of those on treatment are virally suppressed This milestone demonstrates that ending AIDS is possible with political will, community engagement, and sustainable investment. Breakthrough Prevention Tools Offer New Hope On the innovation front, UNAIDS highlighted the advent of long-acting injectable PrEP as a promising game-changer. A new drug, lenacapavir, has shown near-complete efficacy in clinical trials, offering a new horizon in HIV prevention. However, affordability and accessibility remain major challenges, particularly in resource-limited settings. UNAIDS is advocating for equity in access, so that advances in medical science can benefit everyone—regardless of geography or income. A Global Call for Solidarity and Action The report concludes with an urgent appeal for global solidarity. It calls on international donors, multilateral institutions, and philanthropic partners to rally behind community efforts, bridge the funding gap, and safeguard the progress achieved so far. UNAIDS argues that every dollar invested in the HIV response: • Saves lives • Strengthens health systems • Drives progress toward sustainable development goals Since the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic: • 26.9 million deaths have been averted due to treatment • 4.4 million children have been protected from vertical transmission "In a time of crisis, the world must choose transformation over retreat," said Byanyima. "Together, we can still end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030—if we act with urgency, unity, and unwavering commitment."